accretive

adjective

ac·​cre·​tive ə-ˈkrē-tiv 

: relating to or characterized by accretion : produced by or growing by a series of additions of identical or similar things

an accretive process

accretive crystals [=crystals formed by accretion]

Companies need to be able to issue stock at high prices to fund acquisitions that are accretive to earnings.

—Bethany McLean

To [Ben] Zobrist, an ideal clubhouse is one where you can't tell whether a team has lost or won four games in a row. That's possible because of the steady, accretive cadence of baseball, a sport in which alternating games of no hits and three hits will win you a batting title.

—Bruce Schoenfeld

Synonyms of accretive

• cumulative

Examples of accretive in a Sentence

the story of his encounter with the bear was awash with accretive exaggeration, the bear becoming larger with each retelling of the tale

Recent Examples on the Web

From a financial perspective, BofA notes the deal is expected to be accretive to earnings per share by year two, with management projecting $2 billion-$3 billion in total cost synergies by year three. —Lauren Chomiuk, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025

Netflix also expects to save $2-3 billion per year by the deal's third year and expects the transaction to be accretive to GAAP earnings per share by year two. —Nina Tran, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Dec. 2025

These options include simply selling their position through open-market sales, an exchange offer or a mandatory exchangeable bond, with proceeds potentially funding a large share buyback, which would be highly accretive to Fluor's EPS, especially at its currently depressed valuation. —Kenneth Squire, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2025

Madden’s management had expected Geiger to be immediately accretive to earnings per share (EPS), initially in the range of 10 cents in 2025. —Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1661, in the meaning defined above