What’s the difference between operating margin and profit margin?

Profit margin and operating margin are two different ways of measuring a company's financial performance. Profit margin is a measure of how much profit a company makes for every dollar of sales, while operating margin is a measure of how much profit a company makes for every dollar of its operating income.

Profit margin is calculated by dividing the company's net income by its total revenue. For example, if a company has a net income of $1,000,000 and total revenue of $5,000,000, its profit margin would be 20% ($1,000,000 / $5,000,000 = 0.2). This means that for every dollar of sales the company makes, it earns 20 cents in profit. This can be useful for comparing the profitability of different companies, or for tracking changes in a company's profitability over time.

Operating margin is calculated by dividing the company's operating income by its total revenue. Operating income is the amount of money a company makes from its core business operations, before taking into account items like interest expenses and taxes. For example, if a company has an operating income of $500,000 and total revenue of $1,500,000, its operating margin would be 33% ($500,000 / $1,500,000 = 0.33). This means that for every dollar of sales the company makes, it earns 33 cents in profit from its core business operations. This can give you a better understanding of how profitable a company's core business is, and how that profitability compares to its overall profitability.

In summary, profit margin measures the overall profitability of a company, while operating margin measures the profitability of a company's core business operations. Both measures can be useful for evaluating a company's financial performance, but they provide different perspectives on the company's profitability.

Is profit margin better than operating margin?

It depends on what you are trying to evaluate.

Profit margin is a useful measure because it gives you an idea of how much money the company is making from its sales, and how that compares to its expenses.

However, profit margin does not take into account the specific costs and expenses associated with a company's core business operations. This means that it may not give you a complete picture of the profitability of a company's core business.

Operating margin, on the other hand, measures the profitability of a company's core business operations by calculating the amount of profit the company makes for every dollar of its operating income. This is a useful measure because it takes into account the specific costs and expenses associated with a company's core business, and provides a more detailed view of the company's profitability.

Overall, whether profit margin or operating margin is "better" depends on what you are trying to evaluate. If you are interested in understanding the overall profitability of a company, profit margin may be more useful. But if you are interested in understanding the profitability of a company's core business operations, operating margin may be more useful.

Where to find the Profit and Operating Margin of a company?

The profit margin and operating margin of a company can typically be found on the company's income statement. The income statement is a financial statement that shows a company's revenues, expenses, and profit (or loss) over a period of time, such as a quarter or a year.

Key takeaways

• Operating Margin uses the operating income, this is the amount of money a company makes from its core business operations, before taking into account items like interest expenses and taxes.
• Profit Margin on the other hand uses net income, this is the total amount of money a company makes after taking into account all of its expenses, including taxes, interest expenses, and other costs.
• Operating income and net income are then divided by its total revenue to obtain the final operating and profit margin. Both numbers can be found on the Income Statement.