Modeling the IS - in what order do you list the line items?

Started a new job at a bank, and love it, but I don't have too much experience in building an operating model. Would appreciate to hear from those with more experience.

Question: I'd like to know a good logical order to use to present the line items of the income statement.

- Do you usually put EBITDA before EBIT?
- Do you exclude D&A from COGS or from SG&A?

In Training the Street, they teach:

Sales
(COGS excl. depreciation)
= Gross Profit

(SG&A excl. amortization)
= EBITDA

Dep
Amort

= EBIT

That order is very logical, but getting (COGS-Dep.) and (SG&A-Amort.) is not always easy. Sometimes D&A is listed together, sometimes I'm not sure if that stuff was a component of COGS or SG&A, etc.

So I've sometimes used:

Sales
(COGS)
= Gross profit

(SG&A)
= EBIT

+ D&A
= EBITDA

.... then I take away tax, interest, etc. from EBIT. So EBITDA is sort of sticking out in the middle, and the logic doesn't flow quite as well as you move from the top to the bottom.

What do you guys do? Thx.

4 Comments
 

Suscipit ut autem et sed. Assumenda adipisci tempore rerum rerum ipsa velit omnis. Voluptatibus itaque est deleniti velit.

Praesentium aliquam quidem quaerat non quis sunt sed adipisci. Mollitia deserunt modi placeat corrupti. Asperiores non et aliquid.

Ea dolorum et ipsam officiis nihil sit qui. Impedit natus ullam ipsam accusamus delectus possimus. Facilis est et voluptatem et voluptatem molestiae. Vitae sunt qui qui officia voluptas. Sapiente consectetur consequatur ea vero dolores.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”