Levels of Profitability
There are three primary levels of profit of interest to investors:
1). Gross Profit
Gross profit subtracts only the direct cost of producing goods from the total revenue.
Since the cost of producing goods is an inevitable expense, some investors view this as a measure of a company’s overall ability to generate profit.
2). Operating Profit
Operating profit takes into account both the cost of goods sold and operating expenses such as selling, general, and administrative costs (otherwise known as SG&A).
3.) Net Profit
Net profit, or the bottom line, is the money left over after subtracting all expenses from total revenue.
Net profit can refer to earnings before or after tax, so some use “net net” to clarify net profit after taxes.
Investors use all three metrics as a way to evaluate a company’s health, but net profit is widely accepted as the general definition of profit.
Revenue vs Profit
Revenue is the total amount of sales generated by a business for its goods or services. Profit is the earnings left over after expenses have been deducted.
How to Calculate Revenue
To calculate revenue, you just need to add up all the money taken in by sales and other sources of income mentioned above.
For example, say a particular company has the following transactions.
In a particular month, it sold 10 souvenir t-shirts at $20 each, 3 hats at $30 each, and 5 scarves for $15.
It also was able to earn an amount of $200 for rent revenue, and $20 interest income from its bank savings.
The gross revenue for that particular month will be calculated as follows:
Gross revenue is equal to the total of all sales before any deductions of discounts and returns, plus other sources of revenue such as rent and interest from savings.
How to Calculate Profit
To calculate profit, you need to take the revenue from above, subtract all expenses, then take away any deductions. This difference is the final amount of money that was gained after all transactions were completed.
For example, let’s say a particular company has the following transactions.
In one month, it had sales of $850 but it also had costs of producing its products that consisted mainly of raw materials ($50), depreciation on equipment used in production ($60), wages for employees ($200), and an administrative fee ($20).
The total expenses will be calculated as follows:
Profit will be calculated as follows:
Profit is the amount after expenses were deducted from gross revenue.
Why is Profit Referred to as “The Bottom Line”?
Conclusion
Profit is vital for businesses of all sizes and shapes to know how much money is being kept after expenses.
It’s important to not only know how much money a business is keeping after all expenses, but also each level of profitability.
If a business has a low gross profit, its focus should be on reducing the cost to fulfill sales. If it has a high gross profit, but low net profit, it should look at its operational expenses to determine where it can cut costs.
Additionally, separating variable costs and fixed costs are crucial for understanding which expenses are eating away at a business’s profits.
Get Connected with a Financial Advisor
It’s important to understand how profit works in order to be successful, and it can make a big difference on what you do with the money after. Feel free to reach out to a financial advisor in Knoxville, TN to learn about how your business might benefit from our services. For those of you that do not live locally, please visit our financial advisors home page to see the areas we serve.