Bradley's group, Palm Solutions, accounts for most of Palm's revenue but manages only 29 cents in gross profit on the sales dollar. (The software group, PalmSource, gets 91 cents on the dollar.) PalmSource gleefully licenses its fabled operating system to the likes of Sony and Kyocera, which then use it as a blunt object to beat Bradley's hardware group into the ground.

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Intel, by contrast, wrings out just over 50 cents in gross profit on every buck in sales.

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Gross margin is a company's profit on sales before factoring in all costs, such as interest and taxes.

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Better still, Intel reported gross margins of 63%, meaning Intel makes 63 cents in profit on every dollar in sales.

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Shares of Nike surged 11% on March 22 after reporting fiscal third quarter results with expanded gross profit margins and improved sales in China.

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When she pulls up the doctor's name on her computer, she sees the gross profit she's made off him in parts, service and sales for the eight years he's been coming to her dealership.

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