Comparisons of earnings per share with other companies and the industry averages are usually not very meaningful. 45. The price-earnings ratio reflects investors' expectations about the future profitability of the company. 46. An investor interested in purchasing a company's shares for their income potential would be more interested in the company's dividend yield and payout ratios than its price-earnings ratio. 47. Dividend yield measures profit generated by each share, based on the market price per share. 48. Many firms today are so diversified that they cannot be classified by industry. 49. Factors that may limit the usefulness of financial analysis include alternative accounting policies, professional judgement, other comprehensive income, diversification, inflation, and economic factors