earnings per share?

sp0om said: "Why is it that earnings are reported in dollars per share. GE recently made 5.37b last quarter which came out to $.51 per share. Is this to relate the earnings to the stock value and market cap? Does $.51 per share actually get added to the value of the stock? I'm just curious to know why earnings are reported in this way."

willow_road said: "It's just a way of relating the company's income (earnings) as related to the number of shares outstanding, and yes to the share price. You then need to take growth in earnings and sales into account to tell how good of a buy it might be."