How To Read An Income Statement

Whether you call it an Income Statement, an Earnings Statement, or a P&L, every manager should understand these basics of what a Profit and Loss Statement is and how to read it.

An Income Statement is a standard financial document that summarizes a company's revenue and expenses for a specific period of time, usually one quarter of a fiscal year and the entire fiscal year. It is important that investors as well as company managers be able to read and understand this document in order to understand the company's financial condition.

This article gives a management overview of how to read an income statement. Investors, and those seeking more detail, should consider the Investing Lesson "Income Statement Analysis" by Joshua Kennon, About's Guide to Investing for Beginners.