Definition
Adjusted close
The closing price restated so that corporate actions — splits, dividends, spin-offs — don't appear as price moves. Long-range charts default to adjusted series because an unadjusted chart shows a 4-for-1 split as a 75% crash that never happened.
Adjusted close = raw close × split factor − cumulative dividend adjustment (back-propagated)
- Splits
- a share split rescales every earlier price by the split ratio — the largest single adjustment.
- Dividends
- each ex-dividend date steps earlier prices down by the payout, so total-return comparisons hold.
- Spin-offs / special actions
- distributed value leaves the price series and must be adjusted out or the chart shows a phantom loss.
Market data construct (not a filing concept). Computed by the data source from the raw price series plus the corporate-actions record. The actions themselves ARE filed (8-K, proxy) — the adjusted series is derived. Echelon labels every chart adjusted or unadjusted.
- Adjusted history changes retroactively at every new corporate action — two downloads of "the same" series can differ; cite the as-of date.
Educational use only — not investment advice. Figures come from public SEC filings; Echelon teaches you to analyze data, it never recommends buying or selling any security.