Reading Financial Reports For Dummies
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In the world of financial reporting, the net profit margin looks at a company's bottom line. This calculation shows you how much money the company has left after it has deducted all expenses — whether from operations related to the production and selling of the company's products or from nonoperating expenses or revenue not related to the company's sales of products or services.

For example, one nonoperating revenue item is interest earned on a company's bond holdings. That money isn't generated by operations but is still considered earnings. After the operating income line on the income statement, you most likely see a line for interest expense. This line represents the interest the company paid out on corporate debt. You also see income taxes expense, which indicates the amount the company paid in taxes.

These items are two of the biggest charges left to subtract from operating income. The only exception to this rule is if a large extraordinary charge from a special event, such as discontinued operations or the purchase or sale of a division, appears on the income statement. Any extraordinary charges also appear on the income statement after the operating income line.

To find net profit margin, divide net profit by net sales or revenues:

Net profit ÷ Net sales or revenues = Net profit margin

You find the net profit at the bottom line of the income statement; it may also be called net income or net loss. Net sales or revenue is on the top line of the income statement.

You can calculate the net profit margin using numbers from Mattel's income statement:

$776,464,000 (Net profit) ÷ $6,420,881,000 (Net sales) = 12.1% (Net profit margin)

Mattel made a net profit of 10.05 percent on each dollar of sales. Now calculate Hasbro's net profit margin using numbers from its income statement:

$335,999,000 (Net profit) ÷ $4,088,983 (Net sales) = 8.2% (Net profit margin)

Hasbro made a net profit of 8.2 percent on each dollar of sales. Comparing Mattel's and Hasbro's net profit margins, Mattel appears to be more successful than Hasbro at generating a net profit per dollar of sales. The key question investors must then ask is whether Mattel will perform as well in the future.

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About the book author:

Lita Epstein, who earned her MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, enjoys helping people develop good financial, investing and tax-planning skills.
While getting her MBA, Lita worked as a teaching assistant for the financial accounting department and ran the accounting lab. After completing her MBA, she managed finances for a small nonprofit organization and for the facilities management section of a large medical clinic.
She designs and teaches online courses on topics such as investing for retirement, getting ready for tax time and finance and investing for women. She’s written over 20 books including Reading Financial Reports For Dummies and Trading For Dummies.
Lita was the content director for a financial services Web site, MostChoice.com, and managed the Web site, Investing for Women. As a Congressional press secretary, Lita gained firsthand knowledge about how to work within and around the Federal bureaucracy, which gives her great insight into how government programs work. In the past, Lita has been a daily newspaper reporter, magazine editor, and fundraiser for the international activities of former President Jimmy Carter through The Carter Center.

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