Gross Profit Margin Formula

Gross Profit Margin Formula

The gross profit margin formula is calculated by subtracting the total cost of goods sold from the company’s total sales.

Both the total sales and cost of goods sold can be found on the profit & loss statement. Occasionally, the cost of goods sold can be broken down into smaller categories like raw materials and labor costs.

The gross profit margin also shows value addition done by the company on the raw material. More gross profit margins mean a company can sell its value addition at a higher price than its peer. More gross profit margins also show the company’s competitive advantage, as more gross profit margins mean a company has pricing power.

The equation mentioned above looks at the company’s absolute dollar amount of gross profit. Still, calculating the gross profit margin or rate as a percentage is often helpful.

The gross profit formula is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold from net sales and dividing the difference by net sales. Generally, a gross profit margins calculator would rephrase this equation and simply divide the total gross profit dollar amount mentioned above by the net sales.

Gross Profit Margin Formula (Table of Contents)

• Gross Profit Margin Formula
• Gross Profit Margin Calculator
• Gross Profit Margin Formula in Excel (With Excel Template)

Example

Given below is the example mentioned:

Mrs. ABC owns a furniture business that designs and manufactures high-end furniture for offices and residential. She has several different types of furniture and has proven to be one of the most successful brands in her space.

Below is what appears on Mrs. ABC’s profit and loss statement at the end of the financial year.

• Net sales: $ 1,00,000
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): $ 35,000
• Rent: $ 10,000
• Utilities: $ 1,000
• Office expenses: $ 2,50

Mrs. ABC wants to know her gross profit & gross profit margins.

First, we should calculate Mrs. ABC’s overall dollar amount of gross profit by subtracting the $ 35,000 of Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) from the $ 1,00,000 of total sales like this:

• Gross Profit = Net Sales – Cost of Goods Sold
• Gross Profit = $ 1,00,000 – $ 35,000
• Gross Profit = $ 65,000

As you can see, Mrs. ABC has a GP of $65,000. This means the goods she sold only cost her $ 35,000 to produce. Now she has $65,000 that can be used to pay for other indirect bills like utilities and rent.

Gross Profit Margin can be calculated by using Gross Profit Margin Formula as follows –

• Gross Profit Margin Formula = (Net Sales-Cost of Raw Materials ) / (Net Sales)
• Gross Profit Margin= ($ 1,00,000-$ 35,000 ) / ( $ 1,00,000)
• Gross Profit Margin = 65 %

Mrs. ABC is currently achieving a 65 percent gross profit in her furniture business. This means that for every dollar of sales Mrs. ABC generates, she earns 65 cents in gross profits before other business expenses are paid.

Significance and Use

The gross profit method is an important ratio because it shows investors and management how efficiently the business can produce and sell products. Simply put, it shows how profitable a product is regarding the cost of goods sold.

The concept of gross profit is fundamental to management, cost accountants, and investors because it allows them to forecast future activities and create budgets. For example, Mrs. ABC’s gross profit was $ 65,000. If she wants to be profitable for the whole financial year, her other costs must be less than $65,000. Conversely, Mrs. ABC can also view the $65,000 as the money that can be put toward other business expenses or expansion into a new business or market.

Investors are typically interested in gross profit margins as a percentage because this shows them to compare margins between peer companies no matter their sales volume or size. For example, an investor can see Mrs. ABC’s 65 percent gross profit margin and compare it to XYZ’s gross profit margins even though XYZ is a billion-dollar firm. It also allows investors to see how much profit the firm’s core business activities are.

Eicher Motors is an excellent example of higher gross profit margins than peers. Eicher Motors has the highest gross profit margins compared to all its peers. It shows the company has a robust core business operation and has the pricing power to pass on the increase in raw material costs to customers. It makes more sense to invest in a company with good gross profit margins and pricing power over the customers. It shows how healthy business growth was and it will be.

Investors also use gross profit margins to measure the scalability of the business. Good gross profit margins business investors can run different models with their margins to compare how profitable the company would be at different sales levels.

Gross Profit Margin Calculator

You can use the following Gross Profit Margin Calculator.

Gross Profit Margin Formula in Excel (With Excel Template)

Here, we will do the same example of the formula in Excel. It is very easy and straightforward. You need to provide the two inputs of Gross Profit and Gross Profit Margin.

You can easily calculate the formula in the template provided.

So first, we need to calculate Gross Profit.

Gross Profit = Net Sales – Cost of Goods Sold

Then we need to calculate Gross Profit Margin using the Formula.

Gross Profit Margin Formula = (Net Sales – Cost of Raw Materials ) / (Net Sales)

i.e., Gross Profit Margin Formula = Gross Profit / Net Sales

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