If a company has other sources of income—for example, from investments—that income is not considered revenue since it wasn’t the result of the primary income-generating activity. Any such additional income is accounted for separately on balance sheets and financial statements. Nonoperating revenues are the amounts earned by a business which are outside of its main or central operations. Investing its idle cash in interest-bearing investments is outside of its main or central operations. The income statement of a business which typically covers a period of time, such as a quarter or a year, gives a snapshot of the company’s financial health.

The non-recurring nature of non-operating incomes provides scope for accounting manipulation. Non-operating income may be inflated to compensate for losses on operations. It can also account for incorrect operating income by including gains from unrelated activities. Most public companies finance their growth with a combination of debt and equity. Regardless of the allocation, any business that has corporate debt also has monthly interest payments.

Operating revenue examples

It is rather attributable to a company’s managerial and financial decisions. The revenue generated from the primary or core activities of a company is referred to as operating revenue. It is important to differentiate between operating and non-operating revenue to gain insights into the efficiency of a firm’s core operations. Non-operating incomes and expenses are excluded from the Earnings Per Share (EPS) calculation as not being part of the company’s normal course of operations. Non-recurring events can inflate/deflate the company’s earnings hence, depict the untrue financial position of the company.

Furthermore, analysis based on a cash flows approach will not capture the value of non-operating assets. These assets have to be valued separately and added to the operating value of the business. A non-operating asset is a class of assets that are not essential to the ongoing operations of a business but may still generate income or provide a return on investment (ROI). These assets are listed on a company’s balance sheet along with its operating assets, and they may or may not be broken out separately.

Nonoperating Revenue

Revenue is the total amount of income that a company generates from the sale of goods and services. It refers to the sum generated before deducting any expenses, such as those involved in running the business. Nonoperating revenues and gains are often reported on the income statement after the subtotal Income from operations and will often appear with the caption Other income. This is why the most common accounting approach is to exclude non-operating income from the income statements and recurrent profits.

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Charlene Rhinehart is a CPA , CFE, chair of an Illinois CPA Society committee, and has a degree in accounting and finance from DePaul University. While such endeavors can contribute positively to a firm’s bottom line, it also necessitates a careful balancing act to ensure alignment with overall business objectives. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence.

Non-Operating Activities vs. Operating Activities

Wyoming and New Mexico received 70.6% of general revenue from non-tax sources, and Louisiana received 67.7%. Companies in this sector will generate millions of dollars in revenue each year, working on a number of different projects. A sudden increase in profit is more likely to be contributed by unrelated activities and can be non-operating.

Where do you find operating revenue in your financial statements?

Service charges and other non-tax sources of revenue accounted for 15.7% of states’ general revenues. States receive revenue from a range of sources other than taxes, including funding from the federal government, fees, and other transactions like property sales and earnings on interest. Operating revenue is expressed as the total of your sales excluding any one-time costs such as items purchased for resale. Total revenues, on the other hand, also include all one-time costs and this makes it a more meaningful statistic to calculate your business growth (or decline).

What’s the difference between operating and non-operating revenue?

Non-operating income refers to the part of a company’s income that is not attributable to its core business operations. Investment income, gains or losses from foreign exchange, as well as sales of assets, writedown accountant for startups of assets, interest income are all examples of non-operating income items. Non-operating income is the portion of an organization’s income that is derived from activities not related to its core business operations.

Start with a free account to explore 20+ always-free courses and hundreds of finance templates and cheat sheets. A service-based business, like a preschool, sells services to its customers and the customers pay for those services through tuition. Like the nonprofit organization, the preschool might also sell merchandise, either to raise awareness or promote community spirit. Once a year, the preschool might also do a fundraising campaign to encourage past customers and other members of the community to contribute to the preschool’s capital fund.

Non-operating income provides a holistic view of a company’s financial health. While consistent non-operating income can enhance overall profitability, too much reliance on it might indicate potential issues with the core business, making it crucial for investors and analysts to assess. Operating revenue is the total cash inflow from your primary income-generating activity.

The company’s income from dividends, interest income, and interest expenses are non-operating gains or losses. Overall, the company incurred a net non-operating loss of $150,000, which is shown below. In other cases, non-operating assets can be used to diversify operational risks. For example, a business may own some real estate or patents simply as cash investments. Although these assets are not tied to the business’s operations, the company may still earn some revenue from them.