The company issues new shares, usually as employee compensation. The share count rises — your slice of the business shrinks, even though you sold nothing.
MoatLens tip: This is a real cost, easily overlooked in the income statement. The simplest test: look at the number of shares outstanding across ten years. If it climbs steadily, you as an owner are chipping in every year. When total profit rises but profit per share barely moves, dilution is almost always the reason.
In MoatLens this explanation sits right next to the number — one tap away. And you see the ten-year trend instead of a single value.
