Return and Operating Performance Ratios

Return and Operating Performance Ratios is the financial-statement landing page for operating margin, EBITDA-to-sales, GMROI, ROA, ROE, ROTA, return on revenue, and sales-linked profitability ratios. It keeps related terms in one branch so readers can move from a broad statement question to the article that owns the evidence.

Use this page when a margin or return ratio changes how efficiently revenue or assets produce profit. Use the parent Profitability, Margin, and Return Ratios page when you need the broader reporting map. For an individual decision, confirm the statement line, disclosure note, reporting period, measurement basis, and calculation before relying on the term.

Use the table below to move from this landing page into the term page that best matches the statement evidence.

Key Terms in This Branch

Example in Use

A company can improve ROE by increasing leverage even if return on assets stays flat.

What to Check

• Profit measure, revenue base, asset base, equity base, average balance, and adjustment policy.
• Gross, operating, EBITDA, cash-flow, or net-income numerator and the matching denominator.
• Industry, capital intensity, leverage, seasonality, and nonrecurring items.
• Effect on operating performance, peer comparison, DuPont analysis, valuation, and management review.

Common Mistakes

• Comparing margins without checking what costs are included.
• Using ROE without considering leverage and equity changes.
• Treating EBITDA-style ratios as cash flow without checking working capital and capital spending.

Return Ratios content is educational and does not provide personalized investment, tax, legal, accounting, audit, valuation, or securities advice.

In this section

Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.