Definition

EBITDA

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization — a rough proxy for pre-investment operating cash generation, used to compare companies across capital structures. It is a non-GAAP measure: filers must reconcile it to GAAP figures.

Formula

EBITDA ≈ Operating income + Depreciation & amortization

Drivers — what actually moves it

Operating margin: the underlying operating engine.
D&A add-back: capital-intensive businesses show the largest gap between EBITDA and operating income.

Where to find it in the filing

Income statement + cash flow statement (D&A). Not a GAAP line — build it from operating income (Item 8) plus D&A from the cash flow statement; check the filer's own non-GAAP reconciliation in the earnings exhibit.

XBRL concepts Echelon grounds to: OperatingIncomeLoss · DepreciationDepletionAndAmortization

Prove it on a model

Sector caveats — where this breaks

It ignores CapEx, working capital, and stock-based comp — for capital-intensive or dilution-heavy businesses it can diverge widely from cash reality; read it next to the FCF walk.

Operating margin Free cash flow walk

Educational use only — not investment advice. Figures come from public SEC filings; Echelon teaches you to analyze data, it never recommends buying or selling any security.