除了特殊情况(例如，债务权益比率不寻常的公司或资产负债表上的重要资产价值不现实的公司)，我们认为，更合适的衡量管理经济绩效的指标是权益资本回报率。1977年，我们的营业利润占初始权益资本的19%，略好于去年，高于我们自己的长期平均水平和美国工业的总体水平。但是，虽然我们的每股营业收益较上年增长了37%，但我们的初始资本增长了24%，这使得每股收益的增长远没有乍一看那么令人印象深刻。
Except for special cases (for example, companies with unusual debt-equity ratios or those with important assets carried at unrealistic balance sheet values), we believe a more appropriate measure of managerial economic performance to be return on equity capital. In 1977 our operating earnings on beginning equity capital amounted to 19%, slightly better than last year and above both our own long-term average and that of American industry in aggregate. But, while our operating earnings per share were up 37% from the year before, our beginning capital was up 24%, making the gain in earnings per share considerably less impressive than it might appear at first glance.