Corporate bond
A company's debt to the holders of the paper: it must pay the coupon and return the principal whether or not it earned a profit.
How to read the number
Unlike a share, the amounts and dates are known in advance. Exactly one thing is unknown — whether the issuer will manage them.
When the metric lies
Any excess over the government yield equals what the market charges for the chance of not being repaid. That gap is the price of risk, not a reward for diligence.
Also known as: company bond, credit bond