multiple

mul·ti·ple   (mŭl'tə-pəl)    adj.  Having, relating to, or consisting of more than one individual, element, part, or other component; manifold. n.  A number that may be divided by another number with no remainder: 4, 6, and 12 are multiples of 2. [French, from Old French, from Late Latin multiplum, a multiple : Latin multi-, multi- + Latin -plus, -fold; see pel-2 in Indo-European roots.]

Multiple

Mul"ti*ple\, a. [Cf. F. multiple, and E. quadruple, and multiply.] Containing more than once, or more than one; consisting of more than one; manifold; repeated many times; having several, or many, parts.

Law of multiple proportion (Chem.), the generalization that when the same elements unite in more than one proportion, forming two or more different compounds, the higher proportions of the elements in such compounds are simple multiplies of the lowest proportion, or the proportions are connected by some simple common factor; thus, iron and oxygen unite in the proportions FeO, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, in which compounds, considering the oxygen, 3 and 4 are simple multiplies of 1. Called also the Law of Dalton, from its discoverer.

Multiple algebra, a branch of advanced mathematics that treats of operations upon units compounded of two or more unlike units.

Multiple conjugation (Biol.), a coalescence of many cells (as where an indefinite number of am[oe]boid cells flow together into a single mass) from which conjugation proper and even fertilization may have been evolved.

Multiple fruits. (Bot.) See Collective fruit, under Collective.

Multiple star (Astron.), several stars in close proximity, which appear to form a single system.

multiple 

Multiple

Another term for price/earnings ratio (P/E ratio or PE) - a measure of the value of a company's stock determined by its current share price divided by its current annual earnings per share (EPS).

Investopedia Commentary

The term multiple is used because the P/E shows how much investors are willing to pay per dollar of earnings. For example, a stock with $2 of EPS that is trading at $20 has a P/E of 10. This means investors are willing to pay 10 times the current EPS for the stock.

Related Links

Understanding the P/E Ratio
Move Over P/E, Make Way For The PEG

See also: Earnings, Earnings Per Share (EPS), Multiple Compression, Price-Earnings Ratio, Price-Earnings Relative

Also spelled: PE

multiple

1. In stock-index futures, the number multiplied by the futures price to determine the value of the contract. For example, the $500 multiple of the Standard & Poor's Midcap Index is multiplied by the futures price to determine the value of one contract. Thus, a futures price of $230 would yield a contract value of $115,000 ($500 × $230).
2. See price-earnings ratio.

Main Entry: mul·ti·ple
Pronunciation: 'm&l-t&-p&l
Function: adjective
1 : consisting of, including, or involving more thanone <multiple births>
2 : affecting many parts of the body at once

multiple   (mŭl'tə-pəl)  Pronunciation Key  A number that may be divided by another number with no remainder. For example, 4, 10, and 32 are multiples of 2.