is operating income the same as profits 
not exactly operating income is what is left over after a company subtracts the cost of goods sold cogs and other operating expenses from the sales revenues it receives however it does not take into consideration taxes interest or financing charges can a company have a high operating income but lose money while a good operating income is often indicative of profitability there may be cases when a company earns money from operations but must spend more on interest and taxes this could be due to a one time charge poor financial decisions made by the company or an increasing interest rate environment that impacts outstanding debts alternatively a company may earn a great deal of interest income which would not show up as operating income 