Accounts explained · 1 of 10
Turnover vs profit: what is the difference?
What a company takes in, and what is left after its costs.
Turnover is the value of everything a company sells in a year. Profit is what is left once its costs are paid. Greggs took £2,151m in the year to December 2025 and made £167m of pre-tax profit from it: £7.78 of every £100.
How do you get from turnover to profit?
A profit and loss account starts with turnover and takes costs away in stages. Each stage has its own name for what is left, which is why one company can report several different "profits" in the same year.
- TurnoverEverything the company sold in the year, before any costs and excluding VAT. Also called revenue or sales.
- −Cost of salesWhat it cost to make or buy what it sold: ingredients, stock, direct labour.
- =Gross profitWhat is left to pay for running the business.
- −Running costsHead office, marketing, distribution, rent, depreciation.
- =Operating profitThe profit from trading itself.
- ±Interest and investment incomeInterest paid on borrowings, interest earned on cash, dividends from other companies.
- =Pre-tax profitProfit before corporation tax. The figure Spark Intel compares companies on.
- −TaxCorporation tax on the year's profit.
- =Profit for the yearWhat belongs to the owners. They take it out as dividends or leave it in the company as retained earnings. Also called net profit.
The order of a UK profit and loss account. Smaller companies may combine lines or not publish this page at all.
Worked example: what does Greggs keep from every £100?
Greggs' group accounts for the year to December 2025 show turnover of £2,151m and pre-tax profit of £167m. Split into £100 of sales, £35.16 went on its 33,283 staff, £0.84 on interest, and £56.22 on everything else it needs to bake and sell, leaving £7.78 as profit before tax.
Turnover rose 6.8% on the year, but pre-tax profit fell from £204m, a figure that included a £14.1m one-off gain, mainly from selling a former supply site: more sales do not always mean more profit, because costs can grow faster than turnover.
After corporation tax, the profit belongs to the owners, here Greggs' shareholders. They can take it out as dividends or leave it in the company, where it is still theirs. In the year Greggs paid £70m out to them as dividends; the rest of the after-tax profit was left in the company as retained earnings, to pay for new shops, pay down debt or sit as cash.
- Staff costs £35.16
- Interest paid £0.84
- Everything else: food, rent, energy, depreciation £56.22
- Pre-tax profit, left after costs £7.78
Every £100 of Greggs' turnover in the year to December 2025. Interest received is netted into everything else. Source: Group of companies' accounts made up to 27 December 2025, Companies House.
Greggs' full profile → Deep dive: how Greggs makes its money → How Greggs compares with its rivals →
Does the biggest turnover mean the biggest profit?
No. Tesco has the largest turnover of any company on Spark Intel at £73,712m, but makes £3.26 of pre-tax profit from every £100. Of the eight largest, British Airways makes the most, £16.55, and it is number 8 by size.
Supermarkets and other high-volume sellers run on thin margins and make their money from scale; businesses whose prices sit well above their running costs, such as networks and online platforms, can keep far more of each pound.
| # | Company | Turnover | Pre-tax profit | Profit per £100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TescoYear to February 2026 | £73,712m | £2,403m | £3.26 |
| 2 | Sainsbury'sYear to February 2026 | £33,647m | £619m | £1.84 |
| 3 | AsdaYear to December 2025 | £24,054m | -£1,709m | -£7.11 |
| 4 | JLRYear to March 2026 | £22,911m | -£308m | -£1.34 |
| 5 | BTYear to March 2026 | £19,654m | £2,084m | £10.60 |
| 6 | AldiYear to December 2025 | £19,033m | £400m | £2.10 |
| 7 | M&SYear to March 2026 | £17,274m | £365m | £2.11 |
| 8 | British AirwaysYear to December 2025 | £14,679m | £2,429m | £16.55 |
The largest companies on Spark Intel by turnover, with filed pre-tax profit. Banks are left out (a bank's income is not turnover in the same sense), as are companies whose latest profit looks like a one-off or that file in another currency.
Where do you find turnover and profit in a set of accounts?
Both are on the profit and loss account, which may also be called the income statement or the statement of comprehensive income. Turnover is the first line. Profit before taxation comes after operating profit and the interest lines.
Every set of accounts filed by a UK company is free to read on Companies House. Every Spark Intel profile links to the exact filing its figures come from.
Small and micro companies can leave the profit and loss account out of what they file, so for many private companies turnover and profit are simply not public.
Turnover vs profit: common questions
Is turnover the same as revenue?
Yes. UK accounts usually say turnover; international accounts and most news reports say revenue. Both mean the total value of sales in the year, excluding VAT.
Is turnover the same as profit?
No. Turnover is what a company sells; profit is what is left after its costs. Greggs turned over £2,151m in the year to December 2025 but its pre-tax profit was £167m.
Can a company with a high turnover make a loss?
Yes. If its costs are bigger than its sales it makes a loss, however large its turnover. Fast-growing companies often do while they spend to expand, and so do companies paying heavy interest on their borrowings.
Who gets a company's profit?
Its owners. After corporation tax, the profit belongs to the shareholders: they can take it out as dividends or leave it in the company as retained earnings, which is still theirs. Greggs paid £70m in dividends in the year to December 2025, against pre-tax profit of £167m.
Do companies have to pay dividends?
No. Directors can pay interim dividends and recommend a final one for shareholders to approve, and dividends can only come out of profits available for distribution. Listed companies usually publish a dividend policy, such as Greggs' progressive dividend, and the market expects them to keep to it, but any company can cut or skip a dividend, and some never pay one.
Which profit figure does Spark Intel use?
Pre-tax profit (profit before taxation) as filed at Companies House. Where a small company does not publish a profit and loss account, the profile shows a Spark estimate and labels it as one.
Where do I find turnover and profit in a company's accounts?
On the profit and loss account, also called the income statement or statement of comprehensive income. Turnover is the first line; profit before taxation is a few lines below.
Do all companies have to publish their turnover?
No. Small and micro companies can file accounts without a profit and loss account, so their turnover and profit are not public. Medium and large companies have to publish them.
Keep reading
Operating profit vs pre-tax profit
Where interest, dividends and one-offs come in.
Accounts explainedWhat is EBITDA?
The profit figure that is not in the statutory accounts.
Accounts explainedProfit margin
How much of every £100 of sales is left as profit.
Accounts explainedReading a balance sheet
What a company owns, what it owes, and net assets.
Accounts explainedNet debt and borrowings
Borrowings, less the cash in the bank.
Accounts explainedCash vs profit
Profit is an opinion, cash is a fact.
Accounts explainedGroup vs company accounts
Why the same business can show two sets of figures.
Accounts explainedWhat each company has to file
Micro, small, medium and large: who shows what.
Accounts explainedGoing concern
The warning that a company may not last the year.
The seriesAccounts explained
Every topic, in reading order.