Gross Margins
Since gross margins gauge the difference between a firm's product costs and selling price, companies with lower production costs or in-demand products that command higher prices should report higher gross margins than the competition. Table 11-8 compares software vendors Microsoft and Oracle's recent gross margins
The gross margins reflect the vastly different competitive situations facing the two firms. Microsoft sees virtually no competition since practically all personal computers come with Microsoft Windows operating system already installed. Oracle faces competition from SAG, Siebel Systems, and PeopleSoft, among others..
| Fiscal Year | Microsoft (%) | Oracle (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 86 | 74 |
| 2000 | 88 | 71 |
Get Fire Your Stock Analyst! Analyzing Stocks on Your Own now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
