Kansas City Southern (Kansas City Southern) Operating Margin % : 38.76% (As of Sep. 2021)

Kansas City Southern Operating Margin % Chart

Kansas City Southern Annual Data
	Trend	Dec11	Dec12	Dec13	Dec14	Dec15	Dec16	Dec17	Dec18	Dec19	Dec20
Operating Margin %		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					34.15	35.08	35.19	36.81	39.26

Kansas City Southern Quarterly Data
	Dec16	Mar17	Jun17	Sep17	Dec17	Mar18	Jun18	Sep18	Dec18	Mar19	Jun19	Sep19	Dec19	Mar20	Jun20	Sep20	Dec20	Mar21	Jun21	Sep21
Operating Margin %	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															41.24	39.79	38.57	38.57	38.76

Competitive Comparison of Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin %

For the Railroads subindustry, Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin %, along with its competitors' market caps and Operating Margin % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin % Distribution in the Transportation Industry

For the Transportation industry and Industrials sector, Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin % falls into.

Kansas City Southern Operating Margin % Calculation

Operating Margin % - also known as operating income margin, operating profit margin and return on sales (ROS) - is the ratio of Operating Income divided by net sales or Revenue, usually presented in percent.

Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin % for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2020 is calculated as

Kansas City Southern's Operating Margin % for the quarter that ended in Sep. 2021 is calculated as

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Kansas City Southern  (NYSE:KSU) Operating Margin % Explanation

Just like Gross Margin %, it is important to see a company maintains its operating margin over time. Among the same industry, a company with higher operating margin is more efficient in its operation. It is also more stable during industry slowdown or recessions. Peter Lynch prefers those with higher margins than those with lower margins.

Be Aware

Operating Margin % can be manipulated by adjusting the rate of depreciation, depletion and amortization (DDA).

If a company is facing competition, its Operating Margin % may decline. Often the Operating Margin % declines well before the company's Revenue or even profit decline. Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important indicator of whether the company is facing problems.

For instance, by 2012, Nokia (NOK)'s problems were well known and its stock had lost more than 90% of its market value since 2007. But Nokia’s Operating Margin % had already been in decline since 2002, although its Earnings per Share (Diluted) were still rising. Investors who paid attention to Operating Margin % would have avoided this huge loss. The same can be said for Research-in-Motion (RIMM).

Therefore, Operating Margin % is a very important screening filter for GuruFocus. GuruFocus's Buffett-Munger screener requires that the profit margin is either consistent or expanding. The Model Portfolio of the Buffett-Munger screener has outperformed the market every year since inception in 2009.

Kansas City Southern Operating Margin % Related Terms

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Kansas City Southern (Kansas City Southern) Business Description