A more thorough explanation:

Definition: Ongoing earnings refer to the revenue gained from labor or services, investment of capital, or assets that a company continues to earn over time.

Examples:

• Operating earnings: Business income calculated by including income items and excluding various business expenses. This is often used to favorably skew a company's price-earnings ratio.
• Retained earnings: A corporation's accumulated income after dividends have been distributed.
• Surplus earnings: The excess of corporate assets over liabilities within a given period, usually a year.

These examples illustrate ongoing earnings because they represent the revenue that a company continues to earn over time. Operating earnings are calculated in violation of generally accepted accounting principles and are often unreliable. Retained earnings are the income that a corporation has accumulated over time and has not distributed as dividends. Surplus earnings are the excess of corporate assets over liabilities within a given period.