What is a P&L statement?
A Profit and Loss statement (P&L), also called the income statement, is the financial statement summarising revenue, costs and expenses over a period to compute net income. Standard format starts with revenue, subtracts COGS to get gross profit, deducts operating expenses to get operating income, then accounts for interest and taxes to arrive at net income.
P&L analysis is the primary tool for evaluating business trajectory, operating leverage and unit economics. Investors compare P&L line-item growth rates, ratios (gross margin, EBITDA margin, net margin) and year-over-year trends to benchmark performance.