what is the bottom line 
the bottom line refers to a company s earnings profit net income or earnings per share eps the reference to the bottom line describes the relative location of the net income figure on a company s income statement the term bottom line is commonly used in reference to any actions that may increase or decrease net earnings or a company s overall profit a company that is growing its earnings or reducing its costs is said to be improving its bottom line most companies aim to improve their bottom lines through two simultaneous methods increasing revenues i e generate top line growth and improving efficiency or cutting costs investopedia eliana rodgersunderstanding the bottom linethe bottom line refers to the net income reported at the bottom of the income statement the income statement has a general format and although there are multiple variations of layouts all of them result in net income at the end of this financial statement the income statement begins with a company s main business activity s sale or service revenues at the top of the report other sources of revenue such as interest or investment income are listed next the following section reports expenses which may be grouped and reported differently depending on the industry and company preferences at the bottom of the income statement the total revenue minus total expenses leaves the net income for the accounting period that is available for company retention or dividend distribution management can enact strategies to increase the bottom line increases to top line revenues can increase the bottom line this may be done by increasing production lowering sales returns through product improvement expanding product lines or increasing product prices other income such as investment income interest income rental or co location fees collected and the sale of property or equipment also increase the bottom line the net income of the most profitable company in the world saudi aramco 1 a company can also increase its bottom line through the reduction of expenses in relation to goods and products items can be produced using cheaper raw materials or by using more efficient methods decreasing wages and benefits operating out of less expensive facilities and limiting the cost of capital are ways to decrease expenses to increase the bottom line 