Revenue vs. Income: What’s the Difference?

Revenue vs. Income: An Overview

Revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of goods or services related to the company’s primary operations. Revenue, also known as gross sales, is often referred to as the “top line” because it sits at the top of the income statement. Income, or net income, is a company’s total earnings or profit. When investors and analysts speak of a company’s income, they’re actually referring to net income or the profit for the company. 

Revenue

The revenue number is the income a company generates before any expenses are taken out. Therefore, when a company has ”top-line growth,” the company is experiencing an increase in gross sales or revenue.

Both revenue and net income are useful in determining the financial strength of a company, but they are not interchangeable. Revenue only indicates how effective a company is at generating sales and revenue and does not take into consideration operating efficiencies which could have a dramatic impact on the bottom line.

Income

Net income is calculated by taking revenues and subtracting the costs of doing business, such as depreciation, interest, taxes, and other expenses. The bottom line, or net income, describes how efficient a company is with its spending and managing its operating costs.

Income is often considered a synonym for revenue since both terms refer to positive cash flow. However, in a financial context, the term income almost always refers to the bottom line or net income since it represents the total amount of earnings remaining after accounting for all expenses and additional income. Net income appears on a company’s income statement and is an important measure of the profitability of a company.

Revenue vs. Income Example

Apple Inc. (AAPL) posted a top-line revenue number of $260 billion for 2019. The company’s revenue number represented a 2% year-over-year decrease. Apple posted $55.3 billion in net income for the same period, which represented a 7% decrease year-over-year.

We can see that Apple’s net income is smaller than its total revenue since net income is the result of total revenue minus all of Apple’s expenses for the period. The example above shows how different income is from revenue when referring to a company’s financials.

Bottom line growth and revenue growth can be achieved in various ways. A company like Apple might experience top-line growth due to a new product launch like the new iPhone, a new service, or a new advertising campaign that leads to increased sales. Bottom-line growth might have occurred from the increase in revenues, but also from cutting expenses or finding a cheaper supplier.