Depreciation expense can be a big portion of a company’s total expense. And since expenses decrease income, it affects the overall value of a company. Understanding what it is and the methods can help ...

Peter Gratton, Ph.D., is a New Orleans-based editor and professor with over 20 years of experience in investing, risk management, and public policy. Peter began covering markets at Multex (Reuters) ...

Amortization and depreciation are accounting methods used to allocate the cost of assets over their useful lives.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and ...

Accumulated depreciation is the sum of an asset’s depreciation expense. It’s calculated from the start of its use to a specific date. It’s also a contra-asset account. That means it decreases the ...