Retained Earnings : Meaning, Features, Advantages and Limitations - GeeksforGeeks (2024)

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What are Retained Earnings?

Retained Earnings are that part of the profits of an organisation, which remains with it after meeting all its operating expenses and paying out dividends to all the shareholders. The organization intends to keep this surplus amount with itself in the form of reserves and surplus to meet any contingency, carry out research work, expansion projects, etc.

Retained Earnings : Meaning, Features, Advantages and Limitations - GeeksforGeeks (3)

Usually, the profits earned by a business are distributed as dividends among its shareholders. However, a business may decide not to distribute all of its profits to its shareholders in the form of dividends, instead, it keeps a portion of the net income for future use. This method of raising funds using own profits by a firm is called retained earnings or ploughing back of profits. This method of raising funds serves as a means of internal funding, self-financing, or profit-sharing. It is a hassle-free method of raising funds since the firm does not have to depend upon any external sources. It is to be noted that the amount of profit that can be reinvested in a company depends upon the earnings made by the company during a particular year, the dividend policy adopted by the firm and the company’s age.

Table of Content

  • Features of Retained Earnings
  • Advantages of Retained Earnings
  • Limitations of Retained Earnings

Features of Retained Earnings

The features of Retained Earnings are as follows:

  • Cushion of Security: Retained earnings are considered as a cushion of security because they provide support in times of adversity when it becomes difficult for a firm to raise funds from other projects.
  • Funds for Innovative Projects: Retained earnings are a common source of funds for financing risky and innovative projects. These are generally used for research work, expansion projects, etc.
  • Medium and Long-term Finance: Retained earnings are considered as ownership funds and serve the purpose of medium and long-term finance.
  • Conversion into Ownership Securities: Surplus retained earnings can be converted into ownership funds by way of issue of bonus shares. No cash outflow is involved in issuing bonus shares. Investors too are benefitted from the issue of shares free of cost.

Advantages of Retained Earnings

The advantages of Retained Earnings are as follows:

Retained Earnings : Meaning, Features, Advantages and Limitations - GeeksforGeeks (4)

  • Most Dependable Source: Being an internal source, retained earnings are a more dependable and permanent source of finance than external sources of funds. This is because all external sources depend upon market conditions, the preference of the creditors, etc.
  • No Explicit Cost: Using retained earnings does not involve any costs to be incurred as no expenditure is to be made on issuing prospectus, advertising, floatation costs, etc.
  • No Fixed Liability: There is no fixed liability to pay dividends or interest on this source of funds as retained earnings are a company’s own money.
  • No Interference: When a company utilizes its retained profits, it does not need to issue any new shares. As a result, there is no risk of dilution of control in the organization.
  • No Security: Unlike debentures, no charge is created on the assets of the company. As a result, the company is free to use its assets for raising loans in the future.
  • Goodwill: Retained earnings add to the financial strength and credibility of the company. Large reserves enable businesses to respond with ease to any crisis or unforeseen contingency. Retained earnings may lead to an increase in the market price of the equity shares.
  • Absorbs Unexpected Losses: If a business has retained earnings, then it is in the position to absorb unexpected losses.

Limitations of Retained Earnings

Retained Earning has the following limitations:

  • Dissatisfaction:In cases of excessive ploughing back of profits, i.e., where a major portion of the profits has been kept in the form of reserves, the shareholders might be disappointed by the lower amounts of dividends paid to them.
  • Uncertainty: Retained earnings are a highly uncertain method of raising funds since the profits of a business are always fluctuating.
  • Opportunity Cost: The opportunity cost associated with the usage of retained profits is often overlooked or sometimes, not even recognized by a lot of firms, which leads to sub-optimal usage of the funds.

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Retained Earnings : Meaning, Features, Advantages and Limitations - GeeksforGeeks (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of retained earnings and its features? ›

Retained earnings are the amount of profit a company has left over after paying all its direct costs, indirect costs, income taxes and its dividends to shareholders. This represents the portion of the company's equity that can be used, for instance, to invest in new equipment, R&D, and marketing.

What are the limitations of retained earnings? ›

The limitations of retained earnings are as follows :
  • There is imbalanced growth as undistributed profits remain in the same industry.
  • Since the profits of business fluctuate from time-to-time, it is an uncertain source of funds.

What are the pros and cons of retained earnings? ›

The bottom line. As you can see, there are pros and cons to retained profit. Advantages include the ability to boost value and set aside funding for emergencies. Yet on the other hand, disadvantages of retained profit include potentially turning off shareholders by retaining money that could be used for dividends.

What are the three types of retained earnings? ›

The three components of retained earnings include the beginning period retained earnings, net profit/net loss made during the accounting period, and cash and stock dividends paid during the accounting period.

What is the simple definition of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings (RE) are the amount of net income left over for the business after it has paid out dividends to its shareholders. The decision to retain the earnings or distribute them among shareholders is usually left to company management.

What is the best description of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are profits a company keeps instead of paying to shareholders as dividends, crucial for growth. They're found in the balance sheet under equity and show financial health and reinvestment capacity. Calculated as: Beginning Retained Earnings + Net Income - Dividends Paid = Ending Retained Earnings.

Is there a limit on retained earnings? ›

Then, when they receive dividends, the shareholders pay dividend taxes at a rate up to 28%. On the other hand, shareholders do not pay taxes on retained earnings because they never receive them. Instead, the IRS allows a corporation to retain up to $250,000 for the reasonable needs of the business.

What is the problem with retained earnings? ›

The Retained Earnings account can be negative due to large, cumulative net losses. Naturally, the same items that affect net income affect RE. Examples of these items include sales revenue, cost of goods sold, depreciation, and other operating expenses.

What three things affect retained earnings? ›

There are only three items that impact retained earnings, net income, cash dividends, and stock dividends. It is important to note that retained earnings can be reduced by all three of these components if net income for the period is negative.

What is one advantage in using retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are an easy source of financing

Hence, when your business keeps its retained profits, it builds a safety net by providing liquidity for low revenue situations. During any emergency condition, your business would have funds to keep operations on and make basic payments.

What are the risks of retained earnings? ›

One of the disadvantages of retained earnings are the disagreements over what to do with it. This is especially true for large companies with many shareholders to please. Some shareholders may see the wisdom in a company reinvesting money and potentially boosting stock prices, leading to long-term growth.

Are retained earnings a good thing? ›

Retained earnings is just one financial figure in a company's makeup, but it's still an important one. Retained earnings are a source of reinvestment and business growth for a company. The higher a company's retained earnings, the more it can grow and expand.

What are the features of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are a continuous source of funds for an organisation. There is no explicit cost in the form of interest, dividends, or floatation costs. Because funds are generated internally, there is more operational freedom and flexibility.

What is another name for retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are also known as earned surplus, retained capital or accumulated earnings.

Can a company pay dividends with negative retained earnings? ›

Negative retained earnings can impact a business's ability to pay dividends to shareholders. If negative retained earnings aren't corrected, it can reduce company equity. Over time, negative retained earnings can put a business at risk for bankruptcy.

What are the factors of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are affected by any increases or decreases in net income and dividends paid to shareholders. As a result, any items that drive net income higher or push it lower will ultimately affect retained earnings. With net income, there's a direct connection to retained earnings.

What is the function of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are the profit that a business generates after costs such as salaries or production have been accounted for, and once any dividends have been paid out to owners or shareholders. They're sometimes called retained trading profits or earnings surplus.

What is retained earnings best described as? ›

Retained Earnings (RE) are the accumulated portion of a business's profits that are not distributed as dividends to shareholders but instead are reserved for reinvestment back into the business.

Which of the following is the best definition of retained earnings? ›

Retained earnings are the net amount left over at the end of an accounting period - after distributing dividends to owners or shareholders. They reflect your company's financial health and history, and your ability to generate profits over time. It's a common misconception that retained earnings are the same as profit.

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