Evaluation of the Accuracy of Support Vector Machine based on Genetic Algorithm Compared to Common Linear Methods in Forecasting Earnings Per Share

Earnings and earnings per share information are metrics that are considered important by many users; Therefore, companies try to attract investors with the most accurate forecast of earnings per share. On the other hand, despite the various methods of forecasting earnings, accurate forecasting of earnings per share in the financial field is not easy and most researchers are trying to determine the best way to forecast earnings; Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the accuracy of support vector machine based on genetic algorithm compared to common linear methods in forecasting earnings per share. For this purpose, samples consisting of 100 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the years 2008-2019 have been studied. In order to achieve the objectives of the research, first by studying previous research in the field of earnings forecasting, 14 financial ratios affecting earnings forecasting have been selected. Then, in order to provide a model for predicting the profitability of companies, a combined model of support vector machine based on genetic algorithm, support vector machine and linear regression is compared. The results showed that the hybrid model of support vector based on genetic algorithm is much better in predicting the trend of earnings per share and has a higher accuracy compared to the model of support vector based on kernel functions and linear regression method. Thus, with the development of the support vector machine model based on the genetic algorithm, the model training error is reduced to 0.036 and the accuracy of the model is increased up to 75%.