What is the term for the difference between sales and the cost of goods sold?

The term that describes the difference between sales and the cost of goods sold is gross margin. Gross margin is a key financial metric that indicates how much money a company makes from its sales after accounting for the cost of producing or purchasing the goods that it sold. Understanding gross margin is essential for businesses as it reflects the efficiency of production and pricing strategies.

Gross margin is crucial for evaluating the profitability of a company’s core business activities before considering other expenses like operating costs, taxes, and interest. By focusing solely on sales revenue versus the cost of goods sold, this measure helps businesses assess their pricing capabilities and product costs, providing insight into overall financial health.

In contrast, net profit factors in all operating expenses, taxes, and interest, making it a broader measure of profitability. Retail price refers to the selling price of goods and does not factor in costs. Operating income is the profit realized from a business's ongoing operations, including all operating expenses, but like net profit, it is not solely based on the direct relationship of sales and cost of goods sold.