DST Systems (DST Systems) Gross Margin % : 18.96% (As of Dec. 2017)

DST Systems Gross Margin % Chart

DST Systems Annual Data
	Trend	Dec08	Dec09	Dec10	Dec11	Dec12	Dec13	Dec14	Dec15	Dec16	Dec17
Gross Margin %		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					17.17	23.64	21.97	22.05	18.63

DST Systems Quarterly Data
	Mar13	Jun13	Sep13	Dec13	Mar14	Jun14	Sep14	Dec14	Mar15	Jun15	Sep15	Dec15	Mar16	Jun16	Sep16	Dec16	Mar17	Jun17	Sep17	Dec17
Gross Margin %	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															25.65	19.51	19.96	16.09	18.96

Competitive Comparison of DST Systems's Gross Margin %

For the Software - Infrastructure subindustry, DST Systems's Gross Margin %, along with its competitors' market caps and Gross Margin % data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.

DST Systems's Gross Margin % Distribution in the Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, DST Systems's Gross Margin % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where DST Systems's Gross Margin % falls into.

DST Systems Gross Margin % Calculation

Gross Margin is the percentage of Gross Profit out of sales or Revenue.

DST Systems's Gross Margin for the fiscal year that ended in Dec. 2017 is calculated as

DST Systems's Gross Margin for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2017 is calculated as

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

A positive Gross Profit is only the first step for a company to make a net profit. The gross profit needs to be big enough to also cover related labor, equipment, rental, marketing/advertising, research and development and a lot of other costs in selling the products.

DST Systems  (NYSE:DST) Gross Margin % Explanation

Warren Buffett believes that firms with excellent long term economics tend to have consistently higher margins.

Durable competitive advantage creates a high Gross Margin % because of the freedom to price in excess of cost. Companies can be categorized by their Gross Margin %

1. Greater than 40% = Durable competitive advantage
2. Less than 40% = Competition eroding margins
3. Less than 20% = no sustainable competitive advantage
Consistency of Gross Margin is key

DST Systems had a gross margin of 18.96% for the quarter that ended in Dec. 2017 => No sustainable competitive advantage

Be Aware

If a company loses its competitive advantages, usually its gross margin declines well before its sales declines. Watching Gross Margin % and Operating Margin % closely helps avoid value trap situations.

DST Systems Gross Margin % Related Terms

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DST Systems (DST Systems) Business Description