Donnelley Financial Solutions Gross Profit 2011-2025 | DFIN

Gross profit is a key indicator of how efficiently a company produces or sells its products. This metric helps assess a business’s ability to generate revenue at the initial stage, before accounting for all other expenses. Regular analysis of gross profit allows companies to respond in a timely manner to changes in cost of goods, pricing strategy, and market conditions.

Calculation formula:
Gross Profit = Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

Revenue — all cash inflows from the sale of goods or services.
Cost of Goods Sold — direct costs related to the production or acquisition of goods:

• Raw materials and supplies
• Wages of production personnel
• Depreciation of equipment
• Transportation and warehousing costs (if directly related to production)

• Assessing core business profitability
  If gross profit is declining, it may indicate rising production costs or falling sales.
• Financial planning
  Gross profit is the basis for calculating other key metrics, such as operating and net profit.
• Benchmarking against competitors
  Gross profit analysis helps compare the efficiency of different companies within the same industry.
• Insights into pricing effectiveness
  If gross profit is low, the company may be pricing too low or failing to control costs effectively.

• Increase in raw material and supply costs
• Rising production expenses
• Price reductions due to competition
• Decrease in sales volume
• Currency exchange rate fluctuations (for imports/exports)

Gross profit is an important metric, but it does not provide a complete picture of a company’s financial health, as it does not account for administrative and selling expenses, taxes, debt burden, or depreciation.