Net margin: what it is and how to read it
Net margin is the final profit left from each sale after paying everything: costs, expenses, interest and taxes. It is what the company really keeps for its shareholders.
How it is calculated
Net margin = net income / revenue.
How to read it
A 10% net margin means that out of every 100 in sales, 10 are left as profit. Above 20% is rare and usually comes with hard-to-copy advantages.
Net margin in the MeridIAn ranking
Among the 2,106 companies in the ranking with data, the median Net margin is 10.5%: half are below and half above. The lowest 25% are below 4.3% and the highest 25% above 20.7%.
For example: NVIDIA, 63.7%; Apple, 27.6%; Alphabet, 54.8%; Banco Santander, 33.5%.
By sector
| Sector | Median | Companies with data |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Materials | 9.4% | 141 |
| Communication Services | 9.0% | 100 |
| Consumer Cyclical | 6.1% | 226 |
| Consumer Defensive | 5.8% | 124 |
| Energy | 10.2% | 102 |
| Financial Services | 26.1% | 348 |
| Healthcare | 8.5% | 213 |
| Industrials | 7.7% | 387 |
| Real Estate | 30.2% | 96 |
| Technology | 11.6% | 278 |
| Utilities | 13.1% | 91 |
Highest Net margin
What to watch out for
A one-off item (selling a business, a fine, a tax adjustment) can move it a lot in a single year. Look at several years before drawing conclusions.
Related metrics
All metrics in the glossary → · Stocks by sector and country → · Ready-made screeners →
General information for educational purposes, not investment advice. Figures from the latest weekly analysis (Oct 8, 2026) with the latest available price.