Comments on: The Profit Margin Paradigm? http://ContrarianEdge.com/2006/03/08/the-profit-margin-paradigm/ Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:07:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.4 by: James http://ContrarianEdge.com/2006/03/08/the-profit-margin-paradigm/#comment-9096 Thu, 19 Apr 2007 23:37:02 +0000 http://ContrarianEdge.com/2006/03/08/the-profit-margin-paradigm/#comment-9096 HELP! Where can I find a report or list of average historical profit margins (gross, operating, and net) sorted by industry? HELP! Where can I find a report or list of average historical profit margins (gross, operating, and net) sorted by industry?

]]> by: Hans Van Deun http://ContrarianEdge.com/2006/03/08/the-profit-margin-paradigm/#comment-157 Fri, 01 Dec 2006 13:17:26 +0000 http://ContrarianEdge.com/2006/03/08/the-profit-margin-paradigm/#comment-157 Maybe the margin increase is partly due to international expansion? Of course this didn't just happen in the last few years, but LT this can be a factor. If American companies have a higher market share outside the US than non-american companies have in the US (and I think it's safe to assume they do), they will have higher revenues ergo higher profits. Dividing total (American + international) profits by a national indicator, GDP, would then be a flawed measure of profit margins. Now I don't know what percentage of total corporate profits was realized outside of America. Perhaps international profits are only realized by a few large-cap global giants like Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil or 3M, and they only make up a small part of the total profits realised by American corporations. But it could certainly affect Profits/GDP as a measure of the efficiency of capitalism in America. Maybe the margin increase is partly due to international expansion? Of course this didn’t just happen in the last few years, but LT this can be a factor.

If American companies have a higher market share outside the US than non-american companies have in the US (and I think it’s safe to assume they do), they will have higher revenues ergo higher profits. Dividing total (American + international) profits by a national indicator, GDP, would then be a flawed measure of profit margins.

Now I don’t know what percentage of total corporate profits was realized outside of America. Perhaps international profits are only realized by a few large-cap global giants like Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil or 3M, and they only make up a small part of the total profits realised by American corporations.
But it could certainly affect Profits/GDP as a measure of the efficiency of capitalism in America.

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