What Is Ex-Ante?

The term ex-ante refers to future events that are based on forecasts or predictions rather than concrete results. Translated from Latin, it means before the event. Ex-ante can be used to describe the potential returns of a particular security or company. Much of the analysis conducted in the markets is ex-ante, focusing on the impacts of long-term cash flows, earnings, and revenue. While this type of ex-ante analysis focuses on company fundamentals, it often relates back to asset prices.

Understanding Ex-Ante

As noted above, ex-ante is a Latin phrase that means before the event. It essentially involves any prediction or forecast ahead of an event. In finance, this refers to anything that occurs before market participants become aware of the pertinent facts.

Any research or analysis that financial professionals conduct is generally considered ex-ante. The information they provide in their reports isn't based on actual results because the event hasn't yet happened. Instead, it's based on their own predictions, often based on a company or security's historical performance. For instance:

• Buy-side analysts often use fundamental factors to determine a price target for a stock, then compare the predicted result to actual performance.
• Earnings estimates involve ex-ante analysis. They take into account the predicted performance of all of a company’s business units, and in some cases individual products. This also involves modeling uses for cash, such as capital investments, dividends, and stock buybacks.

Types of Ex-Ante Analysis

One type of ex-ante analysis that’s particularly useful to investors is gauging ex-ante earnings-per-share (EPS) analysis in the aggregate. Consensus estimates, in particular, help to set a baseline for corporate earnings. It’s also possible to gauge which analysts among the group covering a particular stock tend to be the most predictive when their expectations are notably above or below those of their peers.

Analysts may also provide ex-ante predictions at times when a merger is widely expected, but before it takes place. Such analysis takes into account potential cost savings related to paring redundant activities, as well as possible revenue synergies brought about by cross-selling.

While all forecasting is ex-ante, some analysis still involves analysis immediately after an event takes place. For example, there’s often considerable uncertainty related to fundamental company performance following a merger. The merger itself is the initial event, but the ex-ante analysis, in this case, makes projections related to the next major upcoming event, such as the first time the combined firm reports earnings.

It’s often impossible to account for all the variables for every form of ex-ante analysis. The market itself also sometimes behaves seemingly erratically. That's why price targets that account for many fundamental variables sometimes miss the mark due to exogenous market shocks that affect nearly all stocks. For this reason, no ex-ante analysis can be relied upon entirely.

Looking Back at Ex-Ante Ex-Post

Ex-post is the opposite of ex-ante. It's Latin for after the event. Having said that, it's possible to compare expectations versus actuals once the ex-ante analysis's event passes. Looking back at predictions ex-post helps to refine them going forward. Sometimes, this provides additional insights.

Here's how ex-post works. Analysts and investors can use any historic returns to make predictions about the future performance of investments and companies. As such, any risks that an investor or other individual may experience in the future can be determined using statistical measurements based on the investment's long-term returns.

Investors, advisers, and analysts can use ex-post analyses to calculate the largest scope of losses possible. This, of course, doesn't take into account any future market swings, abnormalities, or other unexpected events that may take place.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Ex-Ante

There are obvious benefits and drawbacks of using an ex-ante approach when it comes to investing. On the plus side:

• Since they are only predictions, ex-ante analyses allow investors and companies to better prepare themselves for every possible outcome of making an investment, whether that's positive or negative.
• Ex-ante approaches use past performance as a guideline for forecasting.
• Using historical data makes investors, analysts, and companies more prepared to make important investment decisions.

But the drawbacks must also be considered equally, including:

• Using this type of analysis is that it is only a prediction and isn't based on actual results. As such, it doesn't actually provide any concrete determinations.
• It doesn't take any unexpected events, such as market swings, investor sentiment, or other surprising company/industry news, into account.

Examples of Ex-Ante

Here are a couple of examples to demonstrate the meaning of ex-ante in the financial world. First, let's suppose Company ABC is expected to report earnings on a certain date. An analyst at a research firm will use economic and financial data from its past and present operating conditions to make a prediction regarding its EPS. For example, she may analyze the overall economic climate and whether the company's business operation costs might be affected by it. She may also use past business decisions and earnings statements to hypothesize about the company's sales figures.

Here's another example. Let's say two companies are planning to merge. How do investors know this may be a good deal? They can determine this using ex-ante analysis conducted by financial professionals. These experts break down and compare revenue streams and determine how compatible they are with one another. They can also use forecasting to determine if the merger will result in savings if a new company is formed by conducting a cost-benefit analysis.

The Bottom Line

There are many different ways for investors and companies to make important decisions about their investments. One of the most common ways to do so is by conducting or reviewing ex-ante analysis. This type of research is done using forecasting by taking historical returns and performance into account. This is common for earnings reports and other major events like mergers. Keep in mind, though, that this isn't an exact science since it is based on forecasts rather than results.