How To Calculate Gross Profit: Formula and Example


When Garry subtracts the company’s COGs from its revenue, he ends up with a gross profit of $200,000 for the year. For publicly-traded companies, gross profit can be found on the income statements right after the COGS line item. See lower in the article for an example using Microsoft’s income statement. Total revenue is the sales generated by a company’s operations and it is calculated as the price multiplied by the quantity sold.

gross profit definition

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  • It is one of the many available basic accounting tools for small business.
  • Now it’s important to note that sales revenue differs from your company’s profits.
  • For gross profit, he would ignore the administrative costs and salary costs on his company’s income statement.
  • Net profit margin is a key financial metric that indicates a company’s financial health.
  • Gross profit margin, as a percentage of total revenue, contextualizes profitability within industry norms, enabling fairer comparisons between companies.

The formula for gross profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) from the company’s revenue. Gross revenue is the sum of all revenue a business generates, before deducting COGS. This is different from gross profit which calculates how much a business profits after the cost of goods is deducted from the revenue. Gross revenue is also called gross sales or gross income, all of which are one and the same.

Business owners can use this gross profit definition information to make strategic decisions about how to improve their revenue-to-cost ratio and grow their company’s profits. Gross profit is an important indicator of a business’s efficiency and overall financial health. It measures how well a company is covering its basic production costs and generating a profit.

Gross profit vs. other financial metrics

The same split also applies to cost of goods sold, which is labeled cost of revenue in this case. Typically, large companies with several offerings split their revenue into products and services for further context. Gross profit is listed on a company’s income statement, typically after revenue and cost of goods sold. A good gross profit depends on several factors, including the industry, business model, and market conditions.

  • Use promotions, rewards, and testimonials to promote your products, and survey your customers to find out what products they want.
  • Let’s walk through an example to better understand gross profit and how it is calculated.
  • For specific advice about your unique circumstances, consider talking with a qualified professional.
  • Understanding gross profit is important for assessing a company’s production efficiency and tracking its growth and profitability.
  • A portion of fixed costs is assigned to each unit of production under absorption costing, which is required for external reporting under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

What’s the Difference Between a High and Low Gross Profit Margin?

Gross profit is calculated on a company’s income statement by subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) from total revenue. Gross profit differs from operating profit, which is calculated by subtracting operating expenses from gross profit. Gross profit margin indicates the proportion of revenue that remains as gross profit after deducting the cost of goods sold (COGS).

Gross profit margin is also used by stock market analysts and individual investors to compare one company to another. Operating profit digs deeper by subtracting those everyday business expenses too. This makes it a more accurate indicator of how well the company manages its overall operations.

Gross Profit Formula:

The COGS includes all costs that are directly related to creating and selling the product or service. Gross profit is a key component of the Income Statement and plays an important role in understanding a company’s financial performance. ABC International has revenues of $1,000,000, direct materials expense of $320,000, direct labor expense of $100,000, and factory overhead of $250,000. A company’s gross profit should be compared with industry benchmarks to assess its competitive position. Different industries have varying cost structures, so what’s considered a strong gross profit in one industry may be weak in another. After subtracting all expenses, including so-called non-operating expenses like interest and taxes, what is left is net income (also called net profit or earnings).

gross profit definition

Revenue is the amount of money generated from sales of a company’s products and/or services during a specific time period (for example, a month or a quarter). The gross profit margin is the more useful number, since it can be tracked on a trend line over time to see if a business is maintaining a reasonable gross profit percentage. Even a slight decline in this percentage should trigger an investigation, since it can have a major impact on a firm’s net profit margin. The company’s gross profit is $200,000, which means it retains $200,000 after covering production costs.

How To Calculate?

Variable costs can decrease by decreasing the inputs of the goods, i.e., raw material, or by the production of goods efficiently. The company can get discounts by purchasing raw materials in bulk from the supplier. Raw material costs can be decreased by purchasing material from a supplier that provides products at a cheaper rate. The Company can maintain or reduce costs by producing the goods efficiently. When all these variable costs are added up, the total amount is the cost of goods sold (or cost of revenue) used to calculate gross profit.

The cafe owner does a gross profit calculation to see how much they’re making on each cup of coffee. After running the numbers, they find the gross profit margin for each coffee they sell is $1.50. Net sales revenue is what you get by taking your business’ total sales and deducting any returns, discounts, allowances, damaged goods and bad debt. You can calculate your gross profit to compare the funds you put into your business.

A $3 million gross profit from $10 million of revenue equates to a 30% gross margin. While gross profit is the amount of money as an absolute value that remains after COGS is subtracted, gross profit margin is gross profit as a percent of revenue. The general gross profit definition considers only variable costs for its deductions.

How to calculate Gross Profit

Gross profit is a metric shown on the income statement of companies and may also be referred to as gross margin or gross income. It is a key profitability metric that shows how efficiently a company generates profit from its core operations before accounting for overhead expenses, taxes, and interest. You can even compare your firm’s gross profit to other companies in your industry to stay ahead of the curve. Take a proactive approach to your profitability with QuickBooks Online. Gross profit provides a clear picture of a company’s profitability from its products or services. Since gross profit only encompasses profit as a percentage of sales revenue, it’s the perfect factor when comparing companies.


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