PURPLE CHIP STOCK

A term coined by portfolio manager John Schwinghamer in his book "Purple Chips: Winning in the Stock Market with the Very Best of the Blue Chip Stocks" published on April 16, 2012 to describe a stock that is "the royalty of blue chip stocks," or the highest-quality, lowest-risk of these top-notch stocks. Schwinghamer describes purple chip stocks as shares of a blue chip company that has grown slowly and steadily rather than suddenly and unpredictably. He directs investors to look for seven years of consecutive growth in the company’s earnings per share as an indicator that the company is creating long-term value and can continue to perform well even during economic downturns. A purple chip company also has a market capitalization of more than $1 billion.