Continue reading the main story. 1  AMID the squawks and pings of our digital devices, the old-fashioned virtues of reading novels can seem faded, even futile. 2  Brain scans are revealing what happens in our heads when we read a detailed description, an evocative metaphor or an emotional exchange between characters.
One metric that investors use to evaluate companies and industries is profit margin, which speaks of the company's ability to manage its cost and effectively price its products. In May 2015, the profit margin for companies in the food and beverage sector ranged from -24.1% to 24%. The average profit margin was 5.2%.Profit margin is calculated as net income divided by the company's total revenues.n May 2015, the profit margin for companies in the food and beverage sector ranged from -24.1% to 24%. The average profit margin was 5.2%.
To determine gross profit a company takes its total revenue and subtracts cost of goods sold. Using the ice cream parlor example, if the business had total annual revenue of $200,000 and CoGS of $75,000, then the company has a gross margin of $125,000. Typically gross margin gets displayed as a percentage.arkup Vs. Companies use markup to determine selling price, which helps determine gross margin. catenaccio image by Satan from Fotolia.com. Most companies mark up their products or services to determine the selling price.