Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? (2024)

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: An Overview

Gross profit, operating profit, and net income are reflected on a company's income statement, and each metric represents profit at different parts of the production cycle and earnings process.

While income indicates a positive cash flow into a business, net income is a more complex calculation. Profit commonly refers to money left over after expenses are paid, but gross profit and operating profit depend on when specific income and expenses are counted.

Key Takeaways

  • Gross profit is total revenue minus the expenses directly related to the production of goods or the cost of goods sold (COGS).
  • Derived from gross profit, operating profit is the residual income after accounting for all costs.
  • Net income reflects the total residual income after accounting for all cash flows, both positive and negative.

The Income Statement

All three financial metrics, gross profit, operating profit, and net income, are located on a company's income statement, and the order in which they appear shows their significance and relationship.

The top line of the income statement reflects a company's gross revenue or the income generated by the sale of goods or services. Using the revenue figure, various expenses, and alternate income streams are added and subtracted to arrive at different profit levels.

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? (1)

Gross Profit

Gross profit is the total revenue minus expenses directly related to the production of goods for sale, called the cost of goods sold (COGS). COGS represents direct labor, direct materials or raw materials, and a portion of manufacturing overhead tied to the production facility.

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? (2)

COGS does not include indirect expenses, such as the cost of the corporate office. COGS directly impacts a company's gross profit, which reflects the revenue left over to fund the business after accounting for the costs of production. Gross profit does not account for debt expenses, taxes, or other expenses required to run the company.

Operating Profit

Derived from gross profit, operating profit is the residual income after all costs have been included. Operating profitis also called operating income or earnings before interest and tax (EBIT). EBIT can include non-operating revenue, which is not included in operating profit. If a company doesn't have non-operating revenue, EBIT and operating profit will be the same.

In addition to COGS, fixed-cost expenses, such as rent and insurance, and variable expenses, such as shipping and freight, payroll and utilities, and amortization and depreciation of assets, are included. Operating profit does not account for the cost of interest payments on debts, tax expenses, or additional income from investments.

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? (3)

Net Income

A company's profit is called net income or net profit. Since net income is the last line at the bottom of the income statement, it's also called the bottom line. Net income reflects the total residual income after accounting for all cash flows, both positive and negative.

Using the operating profit figure, debt expenses such as loan interest, taxes, and one-time entries for unusual expenses such as equipment purchases are subtracted. All additional income from secondary operations or investments and one-time payments for things such as the sale of assets are added.

Net income is the most important financial metric, reflecting a company's ability to generate profit for owners and shareholders.

Why Is Net Income an Important Number for Investors and Businesses?

For business owners, net income can provide insight into how profitable their companyis and what business expenses to cut back on. For investors looking to invest in a company, net income helps determine the value of a company’s stock.

What Is Operating Income vs. Operating Profit vs. EBIT?

Operating income is a company's gross income minus operating expenses and other business-related expenses, such as depreciation. The difference between EBIT and operating income is that EBIT includes non-operating income, non-operating expenses, and other income.

Why Is Net Income Called the Bottom Line?

The bottom line is a company's net income and the last number on a company's income statement. The bottom line isa company's income after all expenses have been deducted from revenues.

The Bottom Line

Gross profit, operating profit, and net income are shown on a company's income statement, and each metric represents profit at different points of the production cycle. Gross profit is total revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS). From gross profit, operating profit or operating income is the residual income after accounting for all expenses plus COGS. Net income is the bottom line, or the company's income after accounting for all cash flows, both positive and negative.

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? (2024)

FAQs

Gross Profit vs. Operating Profit vs. Net Income: What's the Difference? ›

Gross profit is total revenue minus the cost of goods sold (COGS). From gross profit, operating profit or operating income is the residual income after accounting for all expenses plus COGS. Net income is the bottom line, or the company's income after accounting for all cash flows, both positive and negative.

What is the difference between gross profit and net profit and operating profit? ›

Gross profit is the amount a business has earned minus the direct costs of manufacturing or the cost of goods sold. Operating profit is the amount of the gross profit minus operational costs. Net profit is the total amount left over after the business has accounted for all deductions, including interest and taxes.

What is the major difference between gross and net profit net profit ________? ›

Net profit reflects the amount of money you are left with after having paid all your allowable business expenses, while gross profit is the amount of money you are left with after deducting the cost of goods sold from revenue.

What is the difference between operating profit and net income? ›

Operating profit is a company's profit after all expenses are taken out except for the cost of debt, taxes, and certain one-off items. Net income is the profit remaining after all costs incurred in the period have been subtracted from revenue generated from sales.

What is the difference between net income and gross income? ›

Per definition, gross income is the total amount you earn, and net income is actual business profit after expenses and allowable deductions are taken out. However, because gross income is used to calculate net income, it's important to understand how each is calculated.

Are net profit and net income the same? ›

Net income is also called net profit since it represents the net profit remaining after all expenses and costs are subtracted from revenue.

What is the difference between profit and income? ›

Profit simply means the revenue that remains after expenses; it exists on several levels, depending on what types of costs are deducted from revenue. Net income, also known as net profit, is a single number, representing a specific type of profit after all costs and expenses have been deducted from revenue.

Which is greater gross profit or net profit? ›

In short, gross profit is your revenue without subtracting your manufacturing or production expenses, while net profit is your gross profit minus the cost of all business operations and non-operations.

Is net income always higher than gross profit? ›

Gross profit is always higher than net profit since it's the money a company generates from its core operations after deducting the cost of goods sold (COGS).

What is an example of a gross profit? ›

Gross profit is the revenue left over after you deduct the costs of making a product or providing a service. You can find the gross profit by subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) from the revenue. For example, if a company had $10,000 in revenue and $4,000 in COGS, the gross profit would be $6,000.

What is a good operating income? ›

A general rule of thumb is that a good operating profit margin sits between 10–20%, meaning the business has a profit of 20 cents on each dollar of revenue after operating costs have been deducted. However, this can vary from industry to industry.

What does EBITDA stand for? ›

Share. EBITDA definition. EBITDA, which stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, helps evaluate a business's core profitability. EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

What is the gross profit equal to? ›

Gross profit—also known as sales profit or gross income—is measured by subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) from the revenue made from sales. It's an easy formula that should help you measure the value your goods and services bring to your business.

What is net profit vs gross profit? ›

A business's gross profit is the money it has left after paying for the goods and services it sold. Its net profit is the money left after paying absolutely all expenses and taxes.

Is my income based on gross or net? ›

Gross income is your salary or wages before deductions like taxes and retirement plan contributions are taken out. Net income is what you're left with after those deductions. On a credit application, you'll use the gross figure.

Is earned income gross or net? ›

For the year you are filing, earned income includes all income from employment, but only if it is includable in gross income. Examples of earned income are: wages; salaries; tips; and other taxable employee compensation. Earned income also includes net earnings from self-employment.

What is an operating profit? ›

Operating profit is the net income derived from a company's core operations. Put another way, it is the amount of money that a company has left over after meeting its operating costs (gross profit) but before paying its taxes.

Why is operating profit higher than gross profit? ›

The main difference is that gross profit only includes expenses like labour, materials and other direct costs of production, while operating profit also takes account of costs not directly associated with the production or delivery of goods and services. These are called operating expenses, SG&A or overhead costs.

How do you calculate operating profit? ›

The formula for calculating operating profit is Operating Profit = Revenue - Operational Expenses - Cost of Goods Sold - Day-to-Day Costs (like depreciation and amortization). Operating profit is important because it helps businesses assess their financial performance.

How is net profit more than operating profit? ›

Yes, it can be. Provided that our indirect expenses (eg. Salary, rent, etc) accrued are lower than the indirect income realised (eg. Interest income, dividends received, etc).

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