Covista Communications (Covista Communications) Gross Margin % : 46.41% (As of Apr. 2005)

Covista Communications Gross Margin % Chart

Covista Communications Annual Data
	Trend	Jan96	Jan97	Jan98	Jan99	Jan00	Jan01	Jan02	Jan03	Jan04	Jan05
Gross Margin %		Get a 7-Day Free Trial					15.57	19.76	33.96	43.68	45.13

Covista Communications Quarterly Data
	Jul00	Oct00	Jan01	Apr01	Jul01	Oct01	Jan02	Apr02	Jul02	Oct02	Jan03	Apr03	Jul03	Oct03	Jan04	Apr04	Jul04	Oct04	Jan05	Apr05
Gross Margin %	Get a 7-Day Free Trial															45.27	45.68	47.12	41.63	46.41

Competitive Comparison of Covista Communications's Gross Margin %

For the Telecom Services subindustry, Covista Communications'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.

Covista Communications's Gross Margin % Distribution in the Telecommunication Services Industry

For the Telecommunication Services industry and Communication Services sector, Covista Communications's Gross Margin % distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Covista Communications's Gross Margin % falls into.

Covista Communications Gross Margin % Calculation

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

Covista Communications's Gross Margin for the fiscal year that ended in Jan. 2005 is calculated as

Covista Communications's Gross Margin for the quarter that ended in Apr. 2005 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.

Covista Communications  (OTCPK:CVST) 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

Covista Communications had a gross margin of 46.41% for the quarter that ended in Apr. 2005 => Durable 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.

Covista Communications Gross Margin % Related Terms

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Covista Communications (Covista Communications) Business Description