Which financial performance metric reflects the profitability on a per-share basis?

Earnings per share (EPS) is a key financial performance metric that measures the profitability of a company on a per-share basis. It indicates how much profit a company generates for each share of its common stock, providing investors with a straightforward way to assess the company's financial health and performance relative to its share price.

EPS is calculated by taking the net income of the company and dividing it by the total number of outstanding shares. This metric allows investors to compare profitability across companies and industries, as it normalizes earnings to a per-share basis.

In contrast, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) represents a company's operating performance without considering the effects of capital structure and tax rate, while return on equity (ROE) measures the efficiency of a company in generating profits from shareholders' equity. Gross profit margin indicates how much of a company's revenue exceeds its cost of goods sold but does not provide insights per individual share. Hence, EPS is the most relevant metric for assessing profitability on a per-share basis.