The other main financial statements are the balance sheet and cash flow statement. The single-step format is useful for getting a snapshot of your company’s profitability, and not much else, which is why it’s not as common as the multi-step income statement. But if you’re looking for a super simple financial report to calculate your company’s financial what is the first section of an income statement performance, single-step is the way to go. A total of $560 million in selling and operating expenses, and $293 million in general and administrative expenses, were subtracted from that profit, leaving an operating income of $765 million. To this, additional gains were added and losses were subtracted, including $257 million in income tax.

It is calculated by subtracting SG&A expenses (excluding amortization and depreciation) from gross profit. While primary revenue and expenses offer insights into how well the company’s core business is performing, the secondary revenue and fees account for the company’s involvement and expertise in managing ad hoc, non-core activities. The income statement focuses on the revenue, expenses, gains, and losses reported by a company during a particular period. Net Income (sixth section of the income statement) Net Income is calculated by subtracting the dollar amount appearing in income tax account from the Earnings Before Tax. The cash account, shown on your Balance Sheet (which will be discussed later), depicts the amount of cash that’s in a company’s bank account. Furthermore, the Net Income, which at one time was cash, is used to buy assets, pay down debts, purchase inventories, pay dividends (if any), and pay the owners.

Example of an Income Statement

If you’re an outlier choosing to prepare a manual income statement, refer to this article’s Components of an Income Statement section. Bookkeepers and accountants create financial statements, with accountants having more advanced training to comply with GAAP accounting standards. The income statement is also known as a profit and loss statement, statement of operation, statement of financial result or income, or earnings statement. Horizontal analysis essentially involves looking at figures in a financial statement over different time periods, such as quarters or years.

• In the notes section of the 10-Q, the Mobility line refers to Ford’s autonomous vehicles and related business as well as its equity stake in Argo AI.
• These periodic statements are aggregated into total values for quarterly and annual results.
• Vertical analysis involves comparing different items from a single income statement by calculating percentages instead of examining individual amounts.
• This statement is a great place to begin a financial model, as it requires the least amount of information from the balance sheet and cash flow statement.

Marketing expenses might include; advertising expense, sales force salaries, sales displays expense, brochure and pamphlet development expense, sales promotion expense, and so on. Administrative Expenses are expenses that do not directly relate to the selling of your product or service; however they are necessary in operating the business. The third line or what we call the time frame line requires further discussion. The time frame is the most important part of the heading, since it tells readers of the income statement the final date at which all revenues and expenses have been calculated. To explain this concept lets create an income statement for TRY OUR BIKES for the month of May only. Now that you know what an Income Statement is, you’re one step closer to understanding companies’ financial performance.

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This rule is very important for you to understand, since you will apply it when developing your forecasted financial income statement. As you can see, the two products being sold have been separated into their own account. Moreover, all sales from bicycle rentals and all sales from safety equipment rentals are calculated separately. This is important because it shows the company which products are generating more revenue.

This document communicates a wealth of information to those reading it—from key executives and stakeholders to investors and employees. Being able to read an income statement is important, but knowing how to generate one is just as critical. Income Taxes (fifth section of the income statement) Businesses, like individuals, must pay income taxes based on their taxable income.

How to read an income statement

In addition, companies selling many different products, for example, can decide which products are more profitable than others. If one or more of these products are generating insufficient revenues, the company may decide to stop selling and promoting them. For instance, TRY OUR BIKES generated $5,000 in revenue from safety equipment rentals during May through August of 200X. If this revenue is insufficient relative to the cost of purchasing the safety equipment, the company may elect to discontinue the sale (rental) of it. An income statement is a rich source of information about the key factors responsible for a company’s profitability. It gives you timely updates because it is generated much more frequently than any other statement.

It indicates that Walmart incurred much higher cost than Microsoft to generate equivalent sales. Also called other sundry income, gains indicate the net money made from other activities, like the sale of long-term assets. These include the net income realized from one-time nonbusiness activities, such as a company selling its old transportation van, unused land, or a subsidiary company. As you can see the total marketing expenses ($4,000) are added to the total administrative expenses ($11,000) to arrive at the company’s Total Operating Expenses ($15,000). For instance, if your business does not rent office space, you will not have an account called office rent expense. Or if your business does not require insurance coverage, then you will not have an insurance expense account.

The income statement also shows the details of other comprehensive income (loss), which may be presented as part of the income statement or as a separate financial statement. An income statement showing net profit or loss is also called a profit and loss statement. It may also present basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) and weighted shares outstanding for a corporation with shareholders. An income statement is one of the most common, and critical, of the financial statements you’re likely to encounter. Next in the Cost and expenses section, you’ll notice where Ford is spending its cash.