An accumulated deficit is a negative retained earnings balance. This deficit arises when the cumulative amount of losses experienced and dividends paid by a business exceeds the cumulative amount of its profits. An accumulated deficit signals that an entity is not financially stable, since it requires additional funding. However, this may not be the case for a startup business, where substantial initial losses are expected before sales begin to take off.
It can be quite difficult for a business to obtain a loan when it has an accumulated deficit, since this is a sign for lenders that the business is not generating sufficient cash flow to pay off the loan.
Example of an Accumulated Deficit An organization generates $100,000 of profits, pays out $25,000 in dividends, and then experiences $150,000 of losses. Its accumulated deficit is calculated as:
There’s also a HUGE problem with something called “confirmation bias” with a handful of hopeful gamblers. Time will provide a very costly, yet valuable, lesson in how to trade the OTC. And I don’t really think we’ll have to wait much longer.