A company is said to have a "margin of 83%." This almost certainly refers to which metric: GAAP "As Reported Earnings" Operating Margin Gross Margin Net Margin CAPE is an adjusted form of the P/E multiple, which: reflects the difference between past and future earnings performance accounts for the discrepancy between GAAP and Operating Earnings averages the multiple over a longer period to smooth out business cycle effects adjusts the multiple to offset compression or expansion of the P/E over time The long-term average P/E (since 1970) of the U.S stock market is in the range of: 5-10 10-20 20-40 30-40