What does gross margin actually measure?

Gross margin is the share of each sales dollar that remains after the direct costs of producing the goods or services sold. Those direct costs include raw materials, manufacturing labor, hosting and bandwidth for software, and shipping, depending on the business. It sits at the top of the profitability stack and is the purest read on unit economics, because it ignores overhead, research, marketing, interest, and tax and focuses only on what it costs to deliver what the customer bought.

Why do gross margins vary so much across industries?

Cost structures differ fundamentally. Software businesses carry almost no marginal cost per user once the product exists, so their gross margins tend to run very high. Hardware, food, and commodity producers carry heavy direct costs for every unit shipped, which compresses the margin. Regulated utilities and financial firms have cost structures that do not fit the traditional gross margin concept at all. Comparing gross margin across industries rarely makes sense; comparing within an industry usually does.

Is a higher gross margin always better?

Not on its own. A higher gross margin often signals pricing power or production efficiency, but it can also reflect a company that classifies costs differently, such as putting fulfillment or customer-support costs below the gross line instead of inside cost of goods. It also tells you nothing about whether overhead, research, and sales expense will eat the margin before it reaches the bottom line. Gross margin is a diagnostic input, not a standalone verdict.

Top 100 Stocks by Gross Margin

Top companies ranked by gross margin, latest annual filings.

What Gross Margin Means for US-listed Companies

Gross margin is revenue minus the direct cost of producing what was sold, divided by revenue, expressed as a percent. It captures what is left after the factory, the cloud bill, the shipping, and the raw materials, but before overhead, research, marketing, interest, or tax. Across US-listed firms the figure varies enormously by business model, so the same percentage can signal pricing power in one industry and thin commodity economics in another.

Why Gross Margin Matters

Gross margin is the first layer of the profitability stack and often the clearest read on pricing power, brand strength, and procurement scale. A rising gross margin tends to mean the firm is either charging more or producing more cheaply, both healthy signs. Still, gross margin alone says little about the bottom line; a firm with fat gross margins can still lose money if operating expenses run away, and accounting choices on what belongs in cost of goods differ across reporters.

What to Read Alongside

Pair gross margin with [Revenue](/financials/top-revenue-stocks/) to separate the scale question from the pricing question, [Operating Margin](/financials/top-operating-margin-stocks/) to see how efficiency holds up once overhead and research are loaded in, and [Net Margin](/financials/top-net-margin-stocks/) to check the final conversion to the bottom line.

Data as of FY 2025 91 companies Rhea AI

#	Symbol	Company	Sector
1	AMOD	Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc.	Technology	100.00%	$0.02B
2	VICI	VICI Properties Inc.	Real Estate	99.33%	$30.25B
3	NEON	Neonode Inc.	Technology	98.74%	$0.02B
4	BCRX	BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	97.82%	$2.16B
5	FPS	Forgent Power Solutions, Inc.	Industrials	97.48%	$15.13B
6	JEF	Jefferies Financial Group Inc.	Financial Services	97.40%	$12.20B
7	CCI	Crown Castle Inc.	Real Estate	97.35%	$40.17B
8	VRE	Veris Residential, Inc.	Real Estate	96.78%	$1.78B
9	EXEL	Exelixis, Inc.	Healthcare	96.39%	$13.45B
10	WINA	Winmark Corporation	Consumer Cyclical	96.39%	$1.41B
11	FRHC	Freedom Holdings Corp.	Financial Services	96.37%	$8.60B
12	WES	Western Midstream Partners, LP	Energy	94.61%	$17.30B
13	MSB	Mesabi Trust	Basic Materials	94.60%	$0.32B
14	NVAX	Novavax, Inc.	Healthcare	93.50%	$1.48B
15	RIGL	Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	93.33%	$0.59B
16	CARG	CarGurus, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	92.78%	$2.50B
17	INCY	Incyte Corporation	Healthcare	92.76%	$21.54B
18	PRSU	Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	92.35%	$1.31B
19	SMLR	Semler Scientific, Inc.	Healthcare	91.55%	$0.31B
20	ADSK	Autodesk, Inc.	Technology	90.98%	$43.41B
21	AWR	American States Water Company	Utilities	90.79%	$3.01B
22	MPW	Medical Properties Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	90.71%	$3.02B
23	NMM	Navios Maritime Partners L.P.	Industrials	90.50%	$2.09B
24	WLTH	Wealthfront Corporation	Technology	89.59%	$1.32B
25	ADBE	Adobe Inc.	Technology	89.27%	$88.44B
26	LAND	Gladstone Land Corporation	Real Estate	89.15%	$0.39B
27	DOCS	Doximity, Inc.	Healthcare	89.09%	$3.66B
28	AUPH	Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Healthcare	88.46%	$2.04B
29	CRMD	CorMedix Inc.	Healthcare	88.46%	$0.70B
30	VRSN	VeriSign, Inc.	Technology	88.15%	$25.44B
31	DLB	Dolby Laboratories, Inc.	Industrials	88.13%	$4.99B
32	SILA	Sila Realty Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	87.95%	$1.67B
33	UTHR	United Therapeutics Corporation	Healthcare	87.92%	$23.15B
34	APP	AppLovin Corporation	Communication Services	87.86%	$160.77B
35	ABX	Abacus Global Management, Inc.	Financial Services	87.73%	$0.90B
36	CGEN	Compugen Ltd.	Healthcare	87.29%	$0.19B
37	NNNN	Anbio Biotechnology	Healthcare	87.24%	$0.72B
38	FUTU	Futu Holdings Limited	Financial Services	87.12%	$13.39B
39	STG	Sunlands Technology Group	Consumer Defensive	86.91%	$0.04B
40	CHKP	Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.	Technology	86.72%	$12.81B
41	ALKS	Alkermes plc	Healthcare	86.69%	$7.49B
42	MKTW	MarketWise, Inc.	Financial Services	86.49%	$0.04B
43	FIEE	FiEE, Inc.	Technology	86.44%	$0.04B
44	VRTX	Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	Healthcare	86.24%	$112.95B
45	WING	Wingstop Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	86.22%	$4.19B
46	PINE	Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	85.99%	$0.33B
47	LNT	Alliant Energy Corporation	Utilities	85.67%	$18.76B
48	CPRX	Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	85.19%	$3.84B
49	QFIN	Qfin Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	84.37%	$1.83B
50	SOBO	South Bow Corporation	Energy	84.24%	$7.88B
51	GTM	ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.	Technology	84.03%	$0.79B
52	PTC	PTC Inc.	Technology	83.76%	$13.67B
53	RDVT	Red Violet, Inc.	Technology	83.74%	$0.79B
54	TRAK	ReposiTrak, Inc.	Technology	83.72%	$0.18B
55	TGTX	TG Therapeutics, Inc.	Healthcare	83.66%	$7.36B
56	HALO	Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.	Healthcare	83.62%	$8.39B
57	PAYC	Paycom Software, Inc.	Technology	83.17%	$6.17B
58	SOFI	SoFi Technologies, Inc.	Financial Services	83.15%	$21.38B
59	LLY	Eli Lilly and Company	Healthcare	83.04%	$1035.27B
60	ABNB	Airbnb, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	82.96%	$77.67B
61	QLYS	Qualys, Inc.	Technology	82.85%	$3.90B
62	PLNT	Planet Fitness, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	82.61%	$4.07B
63	MDXG	MiMedx Group, Inc.	Healthcare	82.56%	$0.55B
64	MSCI	MSCI Inc.	Financial Services	82.44%	$43.27B
65	PLTR	Palantir Technologies Inc.	Technology	82.37%	$314.24B
66	FICO	Fair Isaac Corporation	Technology	82.23%	$27.49B
67	META	Meta Platforms, Inc.	Communication Services	82.00%	$1442.92B
68	ALNY	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	81.77%	$38.64B
69	NRIM	Northrim BanCorp, Inc.	Financial Services	81.74%	$0.57B
70	LXP	LXP Industrial Trust	Real Estate	81.61%	$3.10B
71	DT	Dynatrace, Inc.	Technology	81.56%	$11.77B
72	BSY	Bentley Systems, Incorporated	Technology	81.52%	$9.29B
73	HERE	Here Group Limited	Consumer Cyclical	81.52%	$0.11B
74	QSG	QuantaSing Group Limited	Consumer Defensive	81.52%	$0.33B
75	MSGM	Motorsport Games Inc.	Communication Services	81.47%	$0.02B
76	FFIV	F5, Inc.	Technology	81.41%	$22.22B
77	MH	McGraw Hill, Inc.	Consumer Defensive	80.92%	$2.36B
78	PRGS	Progress Software Corporation	Technology	80.82%	$1.33B
79	TCOM	Trip.com Group Limited	Consumer Cyclical	80.58%	$29.84B
80	FTNT	Fortinet, Inc.	Technology	80.46%	$106.28B
81	INDV	Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	80.23%	$4.51B
82	DBX	Dropbox, Inc.	Technology	80.13%	$6.29B
83	CCSI	Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.	Technology	79.81%	$0.64B
84	RMBS	Rambus Inc.	Technology	79.59%	$15.62B
85	NTCT	NetScout Systems, Inc.	Technology	79.41%	$3.01B
86	ATEN	A10 Networks, Inc.	Technology	79.34%	$2.35B
87	EA	Electronic Arts Inc.	Communication Services	78.97%	$50.92B
88	GILD	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	Healthcare	78.83%	$156.28B
89	HSHP	Himalaya Shipping Ltd.	Industrials	78.77%	$0.70B
90	NVEC	NVE Corporation	Technology	78.73%	$0.55B
91	SPOK	Spok Holdings, Inc.	Healthcare	78.68%	$0.23B

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by gross margin as reported in their most recent annual filing with the SEC. Figures shown are in US dollars (or percent, as noted), rounded to two decimals.

Source: annual 10-K / 20-F filings from companies trading on US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX).
Fiscal year: whichever annual period the company has most recently filed. Fiscal years don't always align with the calendar year, so the "as of FY" stamp above reflects the most common year across the table.
Filtered out: warrants, preferred shares, and duplicate listings that share a parent company's financials.
Update cadence: refreshed as companies file new annual reports (typically within 60–90 days of fiscal year end).

Not financial advice. This is a research tool, not a recommendation.