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 92 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%	$30.38B
3	NEON	Neonode Inc.	Technology	98.74%	$0.03B
4	FRHC	Freedom Holdings Corp.	Financial Services	98.47%	$9.51B
5	BCRX	BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	97.82%	$2.15B
6	JEF	Jefferies Financial Group Inc.	Financial Services	97.40%	$9.74B
7	CCI	Crown Castle Inc.	Real Estate	97.35%	$37.06B
8	VRE	Veris Residential, Inc.	Real Estate	96.78%	$1.78B
9	WINA	Winmark Corporation	Consumer Cyclical	96.39%	$1.45B
10	EXEL	Exelixis, Inc.	Healthcare	96.39%	$11.66B
11	WES	Western Midstream Partners, LP	Energy	94.61%	$15.98B
12	MSB	Mesabi Trust	Basic Materials	94.60%	$0.37B
13	NVAX	Novavax, Inc.	Healthcare	93.50%	$1.38B
14	RIGL	Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	93.33%	$0.60B
15	CARG	CarGurus, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	92.78%	$3.60B
16	INCY	Incyte Corporation	Healthcare	92.76%	$19.15B
17	PRSU	Pursuit Attractions and Hospitality, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	92.35%	$1.13B
18	SMLR	Semler Scientific, Inc.	Healthcare	91.55%	$0.31B
19	ADSK	Autodesk, Inc.	Technology	90.98%	$51.80B
20	AWR	American States Water Company	Utilities	90.79%	$3.05B
21	MPT	Medical Properties Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	90.71%	$3.19B
22	NMM	Navios Maritime Partners L.P.	Industrials	90.50%	$1.96B
23	DOCS	Doximity, Inc.	Healthcare	90.20%	$4.46B
24	ADBE	Adobe Inc.	Technology	89.27%	$99.91B
25	LAND	Gladstone Land Corporation	Real Estate	89.15%	$0.42B
26	CRMD	CorMedix Inc.	Healthcare	88.46%	$0.58B
27	AUPH	Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Healthcare	88.46%	$2.10B
28	BDMD	Baird Medical Investment Holdings Limited	Healthcare	88.16%	$0.07B
29	VRSN	VeriSign, Inc.	Technology	88.15%	$24.58B
30	DLB	Dolby Laboratories, Inc.	Industrials	88.13%	$6.20B
31	SILA	Sila Realty Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	87.95%	$1.68B
32	UTHR	United Therapeutics Corporation	Healthcare	87.92%	$25.13B
33	APP	AppLovin Corporation	Communication Services	87.86%	$159.11B
34	ABL	Abacus Global Management, Inc.	Financial Services	87.73%	$0.83B
35	CGEN	Compugen Ltd.	Healthcare	87.29%	$0.27B
36	NNNN	Anbio Biotechnology	Healthcare	87.24%	$1.19B
37	FUTU	Futu Holdings Limited	Financial Services	87.12%	$22.80B
38	CHKP	Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.	Technology	86.72%	$14.60B
39	ALKS	Alkermes plc	Healthcare	86.69%	$5.57B
40	MKTW	MarketWise, Inc.	Financial Services	86.49%	$0.05B
41	FIEE	FiEE, Inc.	Technology	86.44%	$0.06B
42	VRTX	Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated	Healthcare	86.24%	$111.05B
43	WING	Wingstop Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	86.22%	$5.17B
44	PINE	Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	85.99%	$0.32B
45	LNT	Alliant Energy Corporation	Utilities	85.67%	$18.37B
46	CPRX	Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	85.19%	$3.13B
47	SOBO	South Bow Corporation	Energy	84.24%	$6.53B
48	STG	Sunlands Technology Group	Consumer Defensive	84.04%	$0.05B
49	GTM	ZoomInfo Technologies Inc.	Technology	84.03%	$1.85B
50	PTC	PTC Inc.	Technology	83.76%	$16.77B
51	RDVT	Red Violet, Inc.	Technology	83.74%	$0.58B
52	TRAK	ReposiTrak, Inc.	Technology	83.72%	$0.15B
53	TGTX	TG Therapeutics, Inc.	Healthcare	83.66%	$5.79B
54	NVEC	NVE Corporation	Technology	83.63%	$0.40B
55	HALO	Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc.	Healthcare	83.62%	$8.10B
56	PAYC	Paycom Software, Inc.	Technology	83.17%	$6.22B
57	SOFI	SoFi Technologies, Inc.	Financial Services	83.15%	$24.01B
58	QFIN	Qfin Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	83.10%	$1.69B
59	LLY	Eli Lilly and Company	Healthcare	83.04%	$806.72B
60	ABNB	Airbnb, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	82.96%	$85.52B
61	QLYS	Qualys, Inc.	Technology	82.85%	$3.08B
62	PLNT	Planet Fitness, Inc.	Consumer Cyclical	82.61%	$5.72B
63	MDXG	MiMedx Group, Inc.	Healthcare	82.56%	$0.48B
64	MSCI	MSCI Inc.	Financial Services	82.44%	$43.45B
65	PLTR	Palantir Technologies Inc.	Technology	82.37%	$349.11B
66	FICO	Fair Isaac Corporation	Technology	82.23%	$24.59B
67	META	Meta Platforms, Inc.	Communication Services	82.00%	$1697.80B
68	ALNY	Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	81.77%	$41.15B
69	NRIM	Northrim BanCorp, Inc.	Financial Services	81.74%	$0.54B
70	LXP	LXP Industrial Trust	Real Estate	81.61%	$2.99B
71	BSY	Bentley Systems, Incorporated	Technology	81.52%	$10.61B
72	HERE	Here Group Limited	Consumer Cyclical	81.52%	$0.19B
73	QSG	QuantaSing Group Limited	Consumer Defensive	81.52%	$0.33B
74	MSGM	Motorsport Games Inc.	Communication Services	81.47%	$0.02B
75	FFIV	F5, Inc.	Technology	81.41%	$17.84B
76	TCOM	Trip.com Group Limited	Consumer Cyclical	81.27%	$35.72B
77	PRGS	Progress Software Corporation	Technology	80.82%	$1.27B
78	FTNT	Fortinet, Inc.	Technology	80.46%	$63.09B
79	GEN	Gen Digital Inc.	Technology	80.28%	$12.06B
80	INDV	Indivior Pharmaceuticals, Inc.	Healthcare	80.23%	$3.93B
81	DBX	Dropbox, Inc.	Technology	80.13%	$5.87B
82	CCSI	Consensus Cloud Solutions, Inc.	Technology	79.81%	$0.53B
83	RMBS	Rambus Inc.	Technology	79.59%	$14.11B
84	ATEN	A10 Networks, Inc.	Technology	79.34%	$1.99B
85	EA	Electronic Arts Inc.	Communication Services	79.32%	$50.94B
86	WB	Weibo Corporation	Communication Services	78.94%	$2.11B
87	GILD	Gilead Sciences, Inc.	Healthcare	78.83%	$165.44B
88	HSHP	Himalaya Shipping Ltd.	Industrials	78.77%	$0.64B
89	SPOK	Spok Holdings, Inc.	Healthcare	78.68%	$0.23B
90	TTD	The Trade Desk, Inc.	Communication Services	78.63%	$10.91B
91	INMD	InMode Ltd.	Healthcare	78.54%	$0.92B
92	IAS	Integral Ad Science Holding Corp.	Communication Services	78.50%	$1.74B

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.