Operating margin
Operating margin is the share of revenue that survives as operating income — the profitability of the business itself, before the effects of how it is financed and how it is taxed.
How it is computed here
| Formula | operating income ÷ revenue |
|---|---|
| Unit | Ratio (shown as %) |
| Period | One fiscal year, as reported |
| Source | Extracted from SEC filings; every value on an asset page carries the accounting tag and the filing it came from |
| Identifier | margem_operacional |
What goes into the formula
| Operating income | Gross profit less the cost of selling, administering and developing. As reported — this site does not reclassify unusual items. |
|---|---|
| Revenue | The top line, net of collected sales taxes where the filing still includes them. |
A formula without its inputs explained is decoration. Where an input is missing from a filing, the metric is left empty here rather than completed with a zero or an estimate.
How to calculate operating margin, step by step
Two identical operations, one financed with debt.
| Both — revenue | $4,000M |
|---|---|
| Both — operating income | $400M |
| Company A — interest | $0 |
| Company B — interest | $250M |
- A: operating margin = 400 ÷ 4,000 = 10.0%.
- B: operating margin = 400 ÷ 4,000 = 10.0% — identical.
- A: pre-tax profit = $400M. B: pre-tax profit = 400 − 250 = $150M.
- Their net margins differ by a factor of nearly three; their operating margins do not differ at all.
Result: 10.0% for both, and two very different companies
That is the whole point of the measure: it isolates the operation from the balance sheet. It is also its limit — B's interest bill is real and contractual, and operating margin refuses to see it.
The figures in this example are illustrative and rounded — they are not a real company. The real figures on this site are the live ones below and on every asset page, each carrying the filing it came from.
What operating margin is good for
It is the standard way to compare two companies doing the same thing with different capital structures and different tax homes. For most industries it is a better comparison than net margin and a more honest one than EBITDA margin, because it still charges the business for the assets it consumes.
What this number does not tell you
Operating income is the line most affected by where a company chooses to put unusual items: restructuring charges placed above or below it change the figure without changing the business. Comparing operating margins across industries is meaningless for the same reason gross margins are — capital turnover differs. And a company with a crushing debt load can show a healthy operating margin right up to the day it defaults.
Every metric on this site is published with its blind spot stated. A figure without its limit is half a fact.
Highest reported operating margin
| AVBAVALONBAY COMMUNITIES INC | 28698.5% |
|---|---|
| CTRECareTrust REIT, Inc. | 26554.0% |
| BMNRBITMINE IMMERSION TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 7288.1% |
| NVXNOVONIX Ltd | 4916.0% |
| UDRUDR, Inc. | 4872.9% |
| VALValaris Ltd | 4008.4% |
| PFSIPennyMac Financial Services, Inc. | 2742.3% |
| FCCOFIRST COMMUNITY CORP | 2696.2% |
From the most recent fiscal year of each company.
See it in a published filing
These pages show the figure across up to nineteen fiscal years, with the accounting tag and the filing behind every value.