CONTINUING OPERATIONS

Continuing operations is a business term used to describe the segments of a company's business that it considers to be normal, and expects to operate in for the foreseeable future. We most often see continuing operations referenced in earnings reports as a subset of net earnings, as a way to show investors how the company is performing across its core business lines.

In today's financial markets, with so many mergers, acquisitions and business divestitures happening all the time, it is invaluable to break down net earnings into earnings from continuing operations versus profits from discontinued operations, asset sales or financing activities. This allows us to see what portion of current earnings the company can reasonably replicate in the future, and what are one-time occurrences and abnormal events.