What exactly does net margin measure?

Net margin is the percentage of revenue that remains as net income after every expense line has been subtracted: cost of goods, operating expenses, research, marketing, depreciation, interest on debt, and taxes. It is the most comprehensive profitability ratio on the income statement because nothing is excluded. That completeness is also its weakness, because it folds in non-operating items, one-time charges, and tax discontinuities that do not reflect the underlying business. Reading net margin in isolation without context on what produced it can be misleading.

Is a higher net margin always a better signal than a lower one?

Usually within an industry, yes, but across industries the comparison breaks down. Capital-intensive businesses carry heavy depreciation and interest that compress net margin for structural reasons unrelated to quality. Asset-light software firms produce high net margins almost mechanically once revenue covers the fixed cost base. A software firm with a moderate net margin may be a more capital-efficient business than a utility with a similar number. Context about the industry, capital structure, and reinvestment rate is essential before ranking on this metric.

Can a company have a high GAAP net margin but poor cash generation?

Yes, and it happens regularly. Net income includes non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization added back in cash-flow statements, but it also excludes working-capital swings, capital expenditures, and share-based compensation adjustments that affect real cash. A firm with heavy capex reinvestment, growing receivables, or aggressive revenue recognition can report a healthy net margin while free cash flow is negligible or negative. This is why free cash flow is routinely read alongside net margin rather than as a substitute.

Top 100 Stocks by Net Margin

Top companies ranked by net margin, latest annual filings.

What Net Margin Means for US-listed Companies

Net margin is net income divided by revenue, the share of each sales dollar that survives every line of the income statement, including cost of goods, overhead, research, interest, and tax. It sits at the bottom of the profitability stack and represents what actually belongs to shareholders. Across US-listed firms the figure reflects radically different business models, cost structures, capital setups, and tax postures, so it compresses a great deal of information into a single percentage.

Why Net Margin Matters

Net margin captures the cumulative effect of operational efficiency, capital structure, and tax discipline, and a durable net margin across cycles usually reflects a business that has earned its pricing. Still, the number includes non-cash charges such as depreciation and amortization along with one-time items, and GAAP net margin can diverge meaningfully from the cash generation the firm actually produces, so pairing it with cash-flow measures before drawing conclusions is usually wise.

What to Read Alongside

Pair net margin with Gross Margin for the top of the margin stack, Operating Margin for the middle layer before interest and tax, and Return on Equity to combine margin with how efficiently the capital base is being used.

Data as of FY 2025 53 companies Rhea AI

#	Symbol	Company	Sector
1	JOYY	JOYY Inc.	Communication Services	98.78%	$3.77B
2	SPG	Simon Property Group, Inc.	Real Estate	84.28%	$71.94B
3	IBKR	Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.	Financial Services	70.22%	$38.76B
4	VICI	VICI Properties Inc.	Real Estate	69.28%	$29.22B
5	WPM	Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.	Basic Materials	63.58%	$56.90B
6	CME	CME Group Inc.	Financial Services	62.45%	$95.04B
7	SUI	Sun Communities, Inc.	Real Estate	61.31%	$14.66B
8	FNV	Franco-Nevada Corporation	Basic Materials	61.01%	$44.57B
9	MTG	MGIC Investment Corp.	Financial Services	60.84%	$6.21B
10	APP	AppLovin Corporation	Communication Services	60.83%	$112.33B
11	UNIT	Uniti Group Inc.	Real Estate	58.39%	$2.33B
12	FIX	Comfort Systems USA, Inc.	Industrials	55.84%	$60.31B
13	NVDA	NVIDIA Corporation	Technology	55.60%	$5304.16B
14	ESNT	Essent Group Ltd.	Financial Services	54.72%	$6.04B
15	ACT	Enact Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	54.56%	$6.79B
16	TCOM	Trip.com Group Limited	Consumer Cyclical	53.36%	$29.12B
17	VNO	Vornado Realty Trust	Real Estate	51.76%	$7.27B
18	V	VISA Inc.	Financial Services	50.15%	$691.68B
19	VRSN	VeriSign, Inc.	Technology	49.84%	$26.44B
20	BAM	Brookfield Asset Management Ltd.	Financial Services	49.78%	$84.90B
21	FUTU	Futu Holdings Limited	Financial Services	49.62%	$14.65B
22	AGI	Alamos Gold Inc.	Basic Materials	48.97%	$13.02B
23	RDN	Radian Group Inc.	Financial Services	48.67%	$4.82B
24	BVN	Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.	Basic Materials	47.94%	$8.27B
25	DAC	Danaos Corporation	Industrials	47.45%	$2.61B
26	MA	Mastercard Incorporated	Financial Services	45.65%	$504.54B
27	AGO	Assured Guaranty, LTD	Financial Services	45.32%	$3.66B
28	RGLD	Royal Gold, Inc.	Basic Materials	45.25%	$18.48B
29	BYD	Boyd Gaming Corporation	Consumer Cyclical	45.05%	$6.11B
30	LYFT	Lyft, Inc.	Technology	45.03%	$6.19B
31	TSM	Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited	Technology	44.50%	$2168.98B
32	AER	Aercap Holdings N.V.	Industrials	44.04%	$24.40B
33	HOOD	Robinhood Markets, Inc.	Financial Services	42.10%	$81.56B
34	UTHR	United Therapeutics Corporation	Healthcare	41.94%	$22.86B
35	GFI	Gold Fields Ltd ADR	Basic Materials	41.66%	$33.40B
36	VAL	Valaris Limited	Energy	41.33%	$5.36B
37	MSFT	Microsoft Corporation	Technology	40.31%	$3711.73B
38	DUOL	Duolingo, Inc.	Technology	39.91%	$5.74B
39	TW	Tradeweb Markets Inc.	Financial Services	39.60%	$21.80B
40	PTCT	PTC Therapeutics, Inc.	Healthcare	39.46%	$5.91B
41	NVAX	Novavax, Inc.	Healthcare	39.19%	$1.27B
42	ZM	Zoom Communications, Inc.	Technology	39.03%	$29.70B
43	CHKP	Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.	Technology	38.78%	$12.79B
44	SLDE	Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc.	Financial Services	38.41%	$2.49B
45	MSCI	MSCI Inc.	Financial Services	38.36%	$41.24B
46	CBSH	Commerce Bancshares, Inc.	Financial Services	38.16%	$8.51B
47	MPLX	MPLX LP	Energy	38.10%	$61.26B
48	PLD	PROLOGIS, INC.	Real Estate	37.86%	$131.92B
49	SBAC	SBA Communications Corporation	Real Estate	37.43%	$19.37B
50	ESS	Essex Property Trust, Inc.	Real Estate	37.24%	$18.32B
51	HOMB	Home BancShares, Inc.	Financial Services	37.18%	$6.18B
52	PSA	Public Storage	Real Estate	36.99%	$61.07B
53	ACAD	ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.	Healthcare	36.49%	$4.90B

How this ranking is built

Companies are ranked by net 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.