Profitability Ratios: Measuring Financial Performance

CFA Level I Financial Reporting & Analysis · 4:39

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When investors want to know how well a company's doing
They look beyond the revenue, there's profit they're pursuing
Four key ratios tell the story of efficiency and might
ROE and ROA, gross and net margin paint the financial sight

[Chorus]
Return on Equity, ROE shows the power
Net income over equity, shareholders' finest hour
Return on Assets, ROA reveals the truth
How well assets generate profit, that's the proof
Gross margin shows the markup after costs of goods are through
Net margin tells the bottom line, what's left for me and you

[Verse 2]
ROE takes net income divided by shareholders' equity
It measures how effectively the owners' money's working free
Higher ROE means management is using owner funds with skill
But leverage can inflate it, so dig deeper if you will

[Chorus]
Return on Equity, ROE shows the power
Net income over equity, shareholders' finest hour
Return on Assets, ROA reveals the truth
How well assets generate profit, that's the proof
Gross margin shows the markup after costs of goods are through
Net margin tells the bottom line, what's left for me and you

[Verse 3]
ROA divides net income by total assets on the sheet
It shows how well the company makes every dollar compete
Without the leverage factor that can make ROE deceive
ROA shows pure efficiency, what assets can achieve

[Bridge]
Gross margin takes the revenue minus cost of goods sold
Divide by revenue and you've got the story told
Net margin goes much deeper, takes all expenses out
Net income over revenue shows what it's all about

[Verse 4]
Compare these ratios to industry peers and past performance too
Trends matter more than single points when analyzing what they do
High gross with low net margin means expenses are too high
But strong ROE and ROA means the company can fly

[Chorus]
Return on Equity, ROE shows the power
Net income over equity, shareholders' finest hour
Return on Assets, ROA reveals the truth
How well assets generate profit, that's the proof
Gross margin shows the markup after costs of goods are through
Net margin tells the bottom line, what's left for me and you

[Outro]
Four ratios working together tell the profitability tale
ROE, ROA, gross and net, they never fail
To show you how a company turns revenue to gold
These metrics are the story every analyst should know

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