Most important line on Income Statement?
For IB SA interviews, "what's the most important line on Income Statement and why?"
I said Net Income, another interviewer said EBIT....
Trending Content - Investment Banking Forum
| +325 | UBS Tech MD hires Son (from no-name college) as an Intern | 57 | 7h |
| +222 | Evercore Intern Seizure | 34 | 2h |
| +89 | [Official] 2026 IB Analyst Bonus Megathread (with 2025 Consolidated Pay and Perks/Benefits) | 12 | 2d |
| +55 | Is DCM actually underrated ? | 21 | 6h |
| +51 | JPM M&A is Gone??? Purely Coverage Banking??? | 20 | 1d |
| +46 | Are all Tech / TMT groups sweaty? | 33 | 18h |
| +41 | UBS Groups Ranked by Future Outlook | 20 | 6d |
| +38 | Am I behind? 31 Year Old Analyst | 9 | 1d |
| +36 | Losing my personality in Banking | 5 | 1d |
| +36 | Associate & Above IB exits | 15 | 1m |
Career Resources
Probably operating profit...which is EBIT. Tells you the income from operations while disregarding interest/tax considerations.
either EBITDA or EBIT depending on the company/industry, imo (yes, I know EBITDA is BS 99% of the time so you need to take it with a grain of salt). I think the point of the question is to find the closest line item that's a proxy for FCFF
Yes, however, no GAAP income statement will ever have EBITDA on it. They probably want to see your knowledge of what exactly is on the IS, as well as what each line item means. You would have to know that operating profit is on the IS, that it is the same as EBIT, and that EBIT measures the income from operations of a business.
After that, you can then explain how you would make adjustments to get to EBITDA depending on the industry. But if you were given a company's IS and asked to pick the most important line item, you wouldn't find EBITDA since it's a non GAAP metric.
Ah sorry, blanked out for a second and just glanced over the question without closely thinking about the question. You're right, EBITDA isn't separately listed.
Sorry to say, but Net Income would have literally been my last choice; a lot of shit can happen between EBIT and NI.
Just for reference to all the prospective monkeys, if asked this question for a Tech group, the correct answer is probably revenue growth.
Was just about to say this. Probably best to ask which industry this is for as a follow up question. If they don't specify I would go with EBIT.
Earum illo cupiditate enim cumque ut soluta veniam eius. Consequatur accusantium aut aut vitae totam deleniti. Nesciunt modi unde perferendis pariatur. Nihil aut id quia et.
Enim dolore aliquid itaque quis. Et sed rerum illum laboriosam eveniet nam quisquam quia.
Ea odit harum ea molestias odio minus possimus. Quibusdam error autem consequatur voluptatem iure. Ipsam aut possimus optio deleniti sit et. Animi commodi quia eligendi et.
Non aut cum et consequatur est. Corrupti eos dignissimos quaerat omnis. Nostrum reprehenderit facere consequuntur.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...