income generated by sales or other business activity before the relevant costs are deducted

Common use: sales revenue; generate / report revenue

Ticket revenue rose, but higher venue costs absorbed most of the increase.

profit expressed as a proportion of revenue; specify gross or net when needed

Common use: a narrow / healthy profit margin; improve margins

The repair service accepted fewer jobs but improved its net profit margin by reducing costly rework.

ongoing operating costs not directly attributable to a particular product or job

Common use: cover / reduce overheads; administrative overheads

Administrative overheads were shared across projects rather than charged to a single order.

the movement of money into and out of an organisation over time

Common use: positive / negative cash flow; manage cash flow

The touring company’s cash flow improved when venues began paying deposits earlier.

availability of readily usable funds; also the ease of converting an asset into cash without a large loss

Common use: maintain liquidity; a liquidity shortage; a liquid asset

The finance team maintained liquidity by keeping part of its reserves readily accessible.

current assets minus current liabilities, used as a measure of short-term operating resources

Common use: working capital requirements; tie up working capital

Large stocks of unsold fabric tied up the workshop’s working capital.

spending on acquiring or improving assets intended to provide benefits beyond the current period

Common use: planned capital expenditure; capital expenditure on equipment

Buying a new printing press accounted for most of that year’s capital expenditure.

net return considered relative to the amount invested, often expressed as a percentage

Common use: calculate / compare return on investment

The projected return on investment depended heavily on assumptions about maintenance costs.

reach a point where relevant income covers relevant costs, producing neither a profit nor a loss

Common use: break even on a project; a break-even point

The exhibition broke even only after the final weekend’s ticket sales.

get back money spent or lost, typically through later receipts

Common use: recoup costs / an investment / losses

The organiser recouped part of the deposit when another tenant took over the booking.

record a debt or asset value as lost or unrecoverable; also dismiss something as not worth pursuing

Common use: write off a bad debt / an investment; write something off

The company wrote off the value of the destroyed stock in its accounts.

sell or dispose of an investment or business interest; relatively formal

Common use: divest assets; divest itself of a business; divest from a sector

The group divested its hotel interests to concentrate on its transport business.

a period of declining activity or conditions in a market or economy

Common use: an economic downturn; a downturn in demand

The seaside businesses prepared for a downturn after the main conference venue closed.

a significant, sustained decline in economic activity across an economy

Common use: enter / emerge from recession; a prolonged recession

The newspaper distinguished a struggling industry from evidence of a broader recession.

improvement after a decline, without necessarily returning fully to the previous level

Common use: a gradual / uneven recovery; signs of recovery

The recovery in visitor numbers remained incomplete, especially outside the capital.

a reduction in the size or level of activity

Common use: a contraction in output / employment / demand

The contraction in manufacturing was partly balanced by growth in services.

a rise in the general price level over time, rather than merely a high price or one product’s increase

Common use: annual inflation; rising / falling inflation

The analyst compared household spending patterns when choosing an appropriate inflation measure.

the amount of goods or services a sum of money or income can buy

Common use: maintain / erode purchasing power; purchasing power of wages

Her nominal pension stayed the same while its purchasing power declined.

strong, active or optimistic, especially of demand or a market

Common use: buoyant demand / sales / confidence

Investor confidence was buoyant, although the survey recorded considerable disagreement about future profits.

slow-moving or weak in activity, often below what is wanted

Common use: sluggish demand / growth / sales

Sluggish growth prompted the board to revise its expansion timetable.

so fully supplied or served that attracting additional demand becomes difficult

Common use: a saturated market; market saturation

In a saturated market, the new gym had to attract members from existing clubs.

likely to change buying decisions in response to price differences or changes

Common use: price-sensitive customers / demand

Price-sensitive buyers switched brands when the discount ended.

the responsiveness of quantity demanded or supplied to a price change, measured proportionately

Common use: price elasticity of demand; high / low price elasticity

The analyst estimated the price elasticity of demand instead of assuming a price cut would raise revenue.

a seller’s proportion of total sales in a defined market, measured by value or volume

Common use: gain / lose market share; market share by value

The merger gave the combined business a larger market share than either partner had held separately.