The Ticker displays the financial performance of the Solution Providers who attained Best-in-Class ("BIC") profitability during the quarter. Best-in-Class is defined as the profitability which would put you into the top 25% most profitable Solution Providers that quarter. For example, if the BIC profitability is shown as 13.4%, then one fourth of all Solution Providers attained that profitability or higher.
In addition, Median performance and Bottom 1/4 performance are also shown. Median profitability is the performance level at which half the Solution Providers are more profitable and half are less profitable. Bottom 1/4 profitability is the performance level at which 75% of Solution Providers are more profitable.
Of the 80+ critical operating metrics provided by the Service Leadership Index®, the Ticker displays six, explained in the table below:
Metric
Description
Value
EBITDA%
Profitability, specifically, profits if the expenses associated with interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization are added back.
This metric is chosen because it is commonly used in assessing the ability of the organization to produce cash flow for growth and safety, and is also a primary determiner of stock value.
Quarter/Quarter Revenue Change
What is the increase (decrease) in overall revenue of the Best-in-Class profitability Solution Providers from the previous quarter? This number is the average revenue change of all the Solution Providers who attained BIC profitability. The metric is repeated for the Median profitability and Bottom 1/4 profitability Solution Providers.
Is the top-line revenue of the Solution Provider population increasing or decreasing? Are the BIC profitability companies growing faster or slower than the Median and Bottom 1/4 profitability companies?
Product GM%
What is the gross margin of the product sales of the Best-in-Class profitability Solution Providers? This number is the average Product GM% of all the Solution Providers who attained BIC profitability. The metric is repeated for the Median profitability and Bottom 1/4 profitability Solution Providers.
What gross margin are the BIC profitability companies attaining on their product sales, and how does that compare to less profitable companies?
Services GM%
What is the gross margin of the services of the Best-in-Class profitability Solution Providers? This number is the average Services GM% of all the Solution providers who attained BIC profitability. The metric is repeated for the Median profitability and Bottom 1/4 profitability Solution Providers.
What gross margin are the BIC profitability companies attaining on their services sales, and how does that compare to less profitable companies?
SG&A %
What are the Solution Providers who are attaining Best-in-Class profitability, spending on Sales, General and Administrative expenses? This number is the average SG&A% of all the Solution Providers who attained BIC profitability. The metric is repeated for the Median profitability and Bottom 1/4 profitability Solution Providers.
How do top profitability companies spend on SG&A as compared to less profitable companies?
Headcount Change
What is the increase (decrease) in overall headcount of the Best-in-Class profitability Solution Providers from the previous quarter? This number is the average headcount change of all the Solution Providers who attained BIC profitability. The metric is repeated for the Median profitability and Bottom 1/4 profitability Solution Providers.
Is the headcount of the Solution Provider population increasing or decreasing? Are the BIC profitability companies adding or decreasing headcount faster or slower than the Median and Bottom 1/4 profitability companies?
So the Ticker is all Solution Providers lumped together. What about those who have my business model?
Subscribers to the Service Leadership Index® gain access to the 80+ critical metrics for Solution Providers who have their specific business model. So the comparisons are directly applicable. Of course, subscribers also receive the same analysis for all Solution Providers (regardless of business model) so they can see how they compare to the general Solution Provider population at large.
What are the 80+ critical operating metrics?
Subscribers to the Service Leadership Index® gain access to all 80+ operating metrics which enable executives to diagnose profitability and growth problems based on objective analysis rather than guesswork. Below is a sample of the operating metrics.
Overall Gross Margin
Overall Gross Margin %
Hardware Resell % of Gross Margin
Software Licenses (Resell) % Gross Margin
Software Licenses (Own Software) % Gross Margin
Services Gross Margin %
Services GM % by Line of Business
Infrastructure Technical Services GM %
Infrastructure Professional (Project) GM%
Infrastructure Managed Services GM%
Shared Infrastructure Services GM%
All Infrastructure GM%
Applications Technical Services GM%
Application Professional (Project) GM%
Application Managed Services GM%
All Applications Services GM%
Services Realization
Infrastructure Technical Services Professionals by Dollars
Infrastructure Professional Services Professionals by Dollars
Infrastructure Managed Services Professionals by Dollars
All Billable Infrastructure Professionals (multiple of W2)
Applications Technical Services Professionals by Dollars
Applications Professional Services Professionals by Dollars
Applications Managed Services Professionals by Dollars
All Billable Applications Professionals (multiple of W2)
Combined All Services Professionals (multiple of W2)
Expenses as a % of Revenue
Sales Department Compensation
Services Direct Labor Compensation % of Services Revenue (does not include admin)
Management and Administrative Compensation
Total Overall Compensation
Occupancy Expense
Internal Training Expense
Voluntary Employee Benefits
All Other Operating Expenses
Total Overall Operating Expenses
Balance Sheet Ratios
Return on Assets (ROA) Annualized
Accounts Receivable Days Sales Outstanding
Total Inventory Days
Debt to Equity
Performance Summary
Total Revenue $
Total Gross Margin $
EBITDA $
EBITDA as a % of Revenue
So what now? How do I find out how to improve?
Join a Service Leadership Index® OML Progression Peer Group. A powerful advanced small group structured to drive Operational Maturity Level™ (OML™) to deliver optimal business growth through best-practice expertise and peer insight, action and accountability.
