| 1. | the last line of a financial statement, used for showing net profit or loss. |
| 2. | net profit or loss. |
| 3. | the deciding or crucial factor. |
| 4. | the ultimate result; outcome. |
| bottom line n.
|
The last line in an audit, which shows profit or loss.
Note: By extension, “bottom line” refers to the final, determining consideration in a decision.
Note: “Bottom line” also has a derogatory implication when it refers to those people whose attention to the bottom line prevents them from recognizing the value of anything else.
Bottom Line
Slang for net income or profit.
Investopedia Commentary
This term comes from the structure of the income statement: profit is recorded on the bottom line of the sheet.
Related Links
The Bottom Line On Margins
Introduction to Fundamental Analysis
Advanced Financial Statement Analysis
See also: Income Statement, Net Income, Top Line
Also spelled: Bottom-Line Bottomline
bottom line
The ultimate result, the upshot; also, the main point or crucial factor. For example, The bottom line is that the chairman wants to dictate all of the board's decisions, or Whether or not he obeyed the law is the bottom line. This is an accounting term that refers to the earnings figures that appear on the bottom (last) line of a statement. It began to be transferred to other contexts in the mid-1900s.