# Understanding EBIDA: A Conservative Earnings Measure

![EBIDA](https://www.investopedia.com/thmb/SLcpczJn5eyMgOxVSpNveL6mofI=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/EBIDA_Final_4197311-86ab0121f94c44208fecba6e1ce97320.jpg)

*— Investopedia / Paige McLaughlin*

## What Is Earnings Before Interest, Depreciation and Amortization (EBIDA)?

Earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization (EBIDA) is a measure of the earnings of a company that adds the interest expense, [depreciation](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/depreciation.asp), and [amortization](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/amortization.asp) back to the net income number. However, it does include tax expenses.

This measure is not as well known or used as often as its counterpart—earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), which also includes taxes in its calculation. For that reason, EBIDA is considered a more conservative calculation.

### Key Takeaways

*   EBIDA is an earnings metric that adds interest, depreciation, and amortization back to net income, unlike EBITDA which also deducts taxes. 
*   It is considered more conservative than EBITDA because it includes tax expenses, offering a different valuation perspective.   
    
*   EBIDA is not commonly used by analysts, who typically prefer EBITDA or EBIT for evaluating company profitability.   
    
*   The metric is useful for analyzing companies in specific industries, especially those that do not pay taxes, like non-profits. 
*   EBIDA is not regulated by GAAP, making it more discretionary in terms of what elements are included in its calculation.

## An In-Depth Look at EBIDA and Its Applications

You can calculate EBIDA by adding interest, depreciation, and amortization to net income or by adding depreciation and amortization to EBIT, then subtracting taxes.

The metric is generally used to analyze companies in the same industry. One key thing to note is that it does not assume taxes can be lowered through interest expenses.

 EBIDA is common for tax-exempt organizations like non-profit hospitals and charities and can be interchangeable with EBITDA for them.

> **Important**
>
> All components needed to calculate EBIDA can be found on a company's income statement.

## How to Calculate EBIDA: Formulas and Examples

EBIDA is calculated by adding back certain costs to net income. There are many formulas for EBIDA depending on what numbers one is starting from when calculating it. Since net income is a metric all companies report, we can easily use it to calculate EBIDA by adding back in the depreciation, amortization, and interest expenses.

**EBITDA = Net Income + Depreciation + Amortization + Interest**

As an example, consider a company with the following financial information:

*   Total Revenue: $1,000,000
*   Cost of Goods Sold: $200,000
*   Selling and Administrative Expenses: $150,000
*   Depreciation Expense: $50,000
*   Amortization Expense: $25,000
*   Interest Expense: $100,000
*   Taxes: $35,000

The company's net income or profit can easily be calculated by subtracting all the expenses listed above from the $1 million of revenue. This leaves the company with $440,000 of earnings. Since EBIDA is earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization, those expenses are added back to net income to get EBIDA. After adding back these three expenses, the total comes to $515,000. By calculating both net income and EBIDA, the two metrics can be compared. This shows the effect of interest, depreciation, and amortization on earnings.

**EBIDA = $440,000 (net income) + $100,000 + 25,000 - $50,000 = $515,000**

## Key Considerations When Using EBIDA

EBIDA is a more conservative [valuation](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/valuation.asp) than EBITDA because it includes taxes and doesn't assume tax funds can pay down debt.

This debt payment assumption is made because interest payments are tax [deductible](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/deductible.asp), which, in turn, may lower the company's tax expense, giving it more money to service its debt. EBIDA, however, does not make the assumption that the tax expense can be lowered through the [interest expense](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/interestexpense.asp) and, therefore, does not add it back to net income.

> **Fast Fact**
>
> EBIDA is not regulated or required as part of GAAP reporting. Therefore, you probably won't see it explicitly calculated or reported as part of a company's financial statements.

## Why Some Experts Criticize the Use of EBIDA

EBIDA is seldom used, as EBITDA is more standard. EBIDA can be misleading since it's usually higher than net income and EBIT.

Like EBITDA and EBIT, EBIDA isn't included in the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), so what's included varies by company. It also omits data like working capital and [capital expenditures](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/capitalexpenditure.asp) (CapEx). 

## What Is the Difference Between EBIDA and EBITDA?

EBIDA and EBITDA are both profitability measurements that compare a company's earnings after certain expenses have been considered. The only difference between the two is the treatment of taxes. EBIDA does not consider taxes, while EBITDA does deduct the amount of taxes owed. Therefore, EBIDA is often a higher calculation due to it consider one less corporate expense.

## What Is EBIDA Used for?

EBIDA is used to gauge how profitable a company is when not considered some non-cashflow expenses. For instance, both depreciation and amortization are expensed over time not in line with when an initial investment and cash outlay may have occurred. Therefore, EBIDA gives an organization a better understanding of what its profitability is from a cash-generating standpoint.

## What Is a Good EBIDA?

As a baseline, a company's EBIDA must be positive if it hopes to achieve positive cashflow. Even then, EBIDA adds back in depreciation and amortization, so it is possible for a company to have a positive EBIDA and yet still lose money each period. A company should strive to have an EBIDA high enough to sustain company growth as well as tracking what competitive company EBIDA's are to make sure their own is comparable.

## The Bottom Line

EBIDA is a measure of company earnings that considers operating profit, depreciation, amortization, and interest. Companies use EBIDA to better understand their profitability as well as getting a gauge on their earnings after stripping away the items that are not tied to cashflow. However, it can be misleading and is less common than other profitability metrics.

Since EBIDA does not account for taxes, it is particularly useful for organizations that do not pay income tax, such as nonprofits.