Confused with Depreciation and Amortization

Hi there,

I am an undergrad and am having some difficulty understanding how Operating Income (EBIT) corresponds to EBITDA - my largest confusion is how Depreciation and Amortization function within the CF statement and Income statement. I looked at some YouTube videos but it wasn't clear.

Here is an example:

-Revenue: $100

-COGS: $50

-Gross Profit: $50

-OPEX of S&M, G&A, R&D: $20

-Operating Income (EBIT): $30 ($50 minus $20).

Now do I go to the cash flow statement and get Depreciation and Amortization to add it to EBIT to get to EBITDA? Should Depreciation and Amortization be clearly labeled in the income statement as well?

Thanks for your help.

10 Comments
 
Most Helpful

D&A is pulled from cash flow statement when you're trying to go from EBIT to EBITDA. Reason you don't use income statement numbers is because some depreciation expenses are embedded in COGS, which means any explicit depreciation expense on the income statement is likely understated. D&A doesn't need to be explicitly labeled on the income statement. It's usually accounted for in the OpEx or SG&A section. The D&A number will always be on the cash flow statement because you need those exact numbers to flow from net income to cash flow from operations.

 

Thank you for the thorough explanation. I was wondering why sometimes Depreciation and Amortization is explicitly stated on the income statement and why sometimes it is not?

As a seperate question, in instances when it is not stated explicitly on the income statement, I've seen income statements compiled where you arrive at EBITDA by simply doing Gross Profit minus OPEX (which is usually the formula to arrive at EBIT aka Operating Income. In this instance should I assume that D&O is effectively already accounted for in COGS? I wouldn't then need to go to the CF statement and also add back D&O?

 

Typically, it just comes to down to complexity of financial reporting. It takes time and money to even figure out and report these numbers. Bigger companies would prefer to keep their statements at the highest level breakdown as possible, and then plug the other key figures in the notes to financial statements or schedule sections of 10-K. I'm not sure what source told you that EBITDA is GP-OpEx. That would only hold up if D&A is 0. Otherwise, that formula is incorrect. You would have to add back the D&A number from the cash flow statement if there was one.

 

Thanks! That's where my confusion comes from. Assuming D&A is specified in the income statement, that would fall under OPEX, correct?

My understanding is EBIT (Operating Income) is calculated as Gross Profit minus OPEX, right?

My confusion stems from if you have an income statement where D&A isn't stated should you simply calculate EBIT (Gross Profit minus OPEX) and then add back D&A from the CF statement to arrive at EBITDA?

 

I am looking at an income statement that is laid out really strangely. Does this make sense to you?

-Net Revenue: $65,281

-COGS (ex. D&A): $50,806

-Gross Profit: $14,475

-SG&A: $4,728

-EBITDA: $9,747

-D&A: $2,836

-EBIT: $6,911

I'm just used to seeing EBIT listed above EBITDA and not having EBITDA simply being Gross Profit minus OPEX.

 

Quas aliquid blanditiis mollitia recusandae ratione aut. Velit consectetur eos non aut.

Quibusdam officiis deserunt quos velit corrupti iure quos quia. Quia consequuntur quis molestias laboriosam. Porro reprehenderit facilis consequatur suscipit neque sunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”