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Whose profit margins are widening?

A company that keeps more of each dollar of sales can grow profits faster than revenue. Widening margins point to pricing power or scale paying off; narrowing ones are often the first sign of competition or rising costs.

Updated Oct 6, 2026

100
vs since 2014

Near record margins

S&P 500 companies outside finance and property keep 15.0 cents of operating profit from each dollar of sales, up 1.0 points from a year ago and the highest of any quarter since 2014. 56% of companies widened their margins.

Market margin 15.0%222 of 393 wideningMedian change +0.4 pts
Market operating margin, past 3 years

Over time

Select the market or any company below to see its operating margin by quarter.

S&P 500 operating margin, outside finance and property
Total operating profit over total revenue, trailing twelve months. Latest 15.0%.
10%12%14%Mar 15Mar 16Mar 17Mar 18Mar 19Mar 20Mar 21Mar 22Mar 23Mar 24Mar 25Mar 26

The 60 biggest margin gains

Ranked by the change in operating margin over the past year, in percentage points. Select a column to sort.

CompanyMargin trendChange, 1YOperating marginGross marginRevenue, 1YSectorMargin, 3 years

How to read this page

How it’s measured. Operating profit over revenue for the last four reported quarters, against the same a year earlier. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 companies with at least $500 million in revenue, outside finance and real estate.

Sources. Company financial statements from Financial Modeling Prep.

Operating margin is operating profit, before interest and taxes, divided by revenue. Large one-off charges, such as write-downs, can swing it; a margin that jumps from deeply negative usually reflects one.

The score ranks each company’s change in margin from 0 to 100. In our research, improving fundamentals carry more information when the business is also growing.

This page is information, not investment advice. About our data and methods ›

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