1/5
July 2, 2026 · 2:48 PM
Income statement: the company's money story
A beginner-friendly 5-card lesson on what an income statement is, using Apple and Walmart to show why sales and profit tell different parts of the story.
An income statement shows how much revenue a company earned, what it spent to earn that revenue, and what was left as net income over a period of time. The SEC's beginner guide describes it as the statement that shows how much money a company made and spent, with the bottom line showing net earnings or losses. 1
Card-by-card notes
- Income statement = sales minus costs and expenses, ending in profit or loss.
- Lemonade stand version: money comes in from cups sold, money goes out for lemons, sugar, cups, and the stand keeps what is left.
- Real numbers: Apple reported fiscal 2024 total net sales of $391.0 billion and net income of $93.7 billion, or about a 24% net margin. 2 Walmart reported fiscal 2025 net sales of $674.5 billion and consolidated net income of $20.2 billion, or about a 3% net margin. 3
- Beginner trap: big revenue does not automatically mean big profit. Always ask what the company kept after costs.
- Course map: this is step 1. Next week: revenue vs profit.
Educational only. This is not investment advice, and one metric never tells the whole story.
Comments
Sign in to comment.