Market PE at 40 and yet the market is not falling, why? Getting asked this question multiple times. Here's a thread covering ‘very basic’ premier on valuation for my retail investor friends.

Do hit the ‘re-tweet’ and help us educate more investors (1/n)

For us to be able to comprehend the situation, we need to understand 4 very basic valuation matrixes
(1) Trailing EPS
(2) Forward EPS
(3) Trailing PE
(4) Forward PE

Formula

EPS = Profit After Tax / Number of outstanding Shares
PE = Market Price / EPS (2/n)

So what's a trailing EPS?

So in March 2020, RIL generated a Profit after tax (PAT) of 39,354 cr. The number of outstanding shares of RIL is some 676.21 cr. which means the 39,354 cr of PAT belongs to the 676.21 cr. shareholders, right? (3/n)

That also means that per share, RIL earned Rs. 58.20 (39,354/676.21). This 58.20 is called the trailing (TTM) EPS. Trailing means past, already done. (4/n)

So RIL earns 58.20 rupees per share but you pay 58.20 * 33.16 = 1930, 33.16 times more to buy 1 share from the market, that 33.16 is called the Price/Earnings (PE) ratio. This is again trailing as 58.20 EPS is trailing. (5/n)