Marže
Profit Margin · Profitability Margin
The share of profit from revenue — how many cents from every dollar earned the company actually keeps.
What it is
Margin expresses profitability as a percentage of revenue. Each level of the income statement has its own margin:
| Margin | Formula | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | Gross Profit / Revenue | Efficiency of producing/delivering the product |
| Operating Margin | EBIT / Revenue | Operating efficiency before leverage and taxes |
| Net Margin | Net Income / Revenue | Total profitability after all costs |
| EBITDA Margin | EBITDA / Revenue | Operational cash performance |
| FCF Margin | FCF / Revenue | How much cash the company actually generates per dollar of revenue |
Margins are always expressed as percentages and compared against the company's own history and competitors in the same sector.
Why track it
Rising margin → the company is either raising prices (pricing power) or cutting costs (operating leverage). Falling margin → pricing pressure, rising costs, or mix-shift toward less profitable products.
FCF margin is especially important — net margin can be distorted by accounting depreciation and amortization; FCF margin shows how much cash the company actually holds. Companies with FCF margin above 20% typically have a strong competitive advantage.
Compare margins across industries with care: software typically has a gross margin of 70–80%, retail only 25–35%. What matters more is the trend and comparison with direct competitors.
Real-world example
Microsoft FY2025:
- →Gross margin: ~69%
- →Operating margin: ~45%
- →Net margin: ~36%
- →FCF margin: ~43% (FCF $84.5B / Revenue $198.1B)
Microsoft's FCF margin is higher than its net margin — depreciation on data centres and SBC are added back, while capex is currently still relatively lower than future amortisation.
The gap between gross and operating margin (~24 p.p.) = all operating costs (R&D, S&M, G&A).