EBITDAR, which stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs, is an operational efficiency metric. It’s often used by investors, lenders, and business owners to understand how well a company is performing from its primary business operations. It does this by adding back non-operational, non-recurring, and non-cash expenses to net income.
Here’s what you need to know about EBITDAR, including how to calculate it, how it’s used, and what it can tell you about your business.
Key Points
• EBITDAR measures a company’s operating performance by excluding interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and rent expenses.
• It’s commonly used in industries with significant rent costs, like hospitality and airlines, to compare companies more accurately.
• EBITDAR helps assess a company’s profitability before non-operational costs and financial obligations.
• Pros of EBITDAR include showing a company’s operating cash flow and allowing investors to compare companies with different non-cash, non-recurring, and non-operating expenses.
• Cons of EBITDAR include it’s not regulated by GAAP and the numbers can be easily manipulated.
What Is EBITDAR?
EBITDAR is a variation of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), an accounting method that removes the effects of non-operational costs from net income. The only difference? EBITDAR also excludes restructuring and rental costs. (EBITDAR is also similar to adjusted EBITDA, which includes the removal of various one-time, irregular, and non-recurring items from EBITDA.)
By removing rental costs, investors can analyze companies that may have similar operations but that choose to access assets differently — some companies rent while others choose to own. Excluding rentals allows comparison of profits apples-to-apples.
EBITDAR is also an important measure if you are exploring business loans because it is often used by lenders to estimate the cash flows that a company has available for principal and interest payments.
Breakdown of EBITDAR
Here’s a breakdown of each part of EBITDAR and why each variable is important.
Earnings: Earnings are the profit a business makes off of its core operations. With EBITDAR, earnings are calculated by subtracting expenses from total revenue. However, unlike net earnings, EBITDAR doesn’t subtract all business expenses. It factors in the cost of goods sold, general and administrative expenses, and other operating expenses, but doesn’t subtract costs that are not directly related to the company’s operations, namely interest paid on debt, amortization and depreciation expenses, income taxes, and the cost of restructuring or renting.
Interest: The interest a company pays on its loans is added back to net income with EBITDAR. The reasoning behind this is that while interest is an expense, it doesn’t reflect how well the company is utilizing its debt. Businesses take on different amounts of debt for different reasons and receive different interest rates based on a variety of factors (for example, credit score, existing debt, and collateral).
Taxes: Each locality has different tax laws. Depending on where a business is located, it may have a dramatically different tax burden than another company with the same amount in sales. To better compare companies, EBITDAR removes the effect of taxes on net income. This makes it easier to compare the performance of two or more companies operating in different states, cities, or counties.
Depreciation: Depreciation is the process of writing off the cost of a tangible asset over the course of its useful life. With EBITDAR, depreciation is added back to net income because depreciation depends on past investments the business has made and not on the company’s operating performance.
Amortization: Amortization is similar to depreciation, but is used to spread out the cost of intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, non-compete agreements, and software. These assets also have a limited useful life due to expiration. Amortization is added back to net income in EBITDAR because this expense isn’t directly related to a business’s core operations.
Restructuring costs: The restructuring of land or a building is an expense that doesn’t occur very often for most companies. And, many analysts view it as more of an investment that could potentially help the company generate additional revenue and profits. As a result, any costs associated with restructuring are added back to net income with EBITDAR to give analysts a better understanding of how well the central business model is performing.
Rental costs: Because rent can vary significantly from one location to the next and is not within a business’s control, rent costs are added back to net income in EBITDAR. This allows for a better understanding of a company’s operating performance and potential. In addition, rent is a sunk cost, which means the expense is guaranteed to occur regardless of how a company performs.
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EBITDAR Formula
The standard formula for EBITDAR is:
EBITDAR = Net income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization + Restructuring or Rent Costs
An alternative formula:
EBITDAR = EBITDA + Restructuring/Rental Costs
where:
EBITDA = Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization
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How Does EBITDAR Work?
The premise of EBITDAR is that certain expenses can distract analysts from understanding how well a company is bringing in business. It only includes core operating expenses, and the following expenses are added back to net income:
• Non-cash expenses
• Non-recurring expenses
• Non-operational expenses
What EBITDAR Tells You
EBITDAR, rather than EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), is primarily used to analyze the financial health and performance of companies that have gone through restructuring within the past year or have unique rent costs, such as restaurants, casinos, shipping companies, and airlines.
EBITDAR (like EBITDA) is also useful for measuring a company’s operating cash flow and for comparing the profitability of companies with different capital structures and in different tax brackets.
However, companies do have to pay interest, taxes, and rent, and must also account for depreciation and amortization. As a result, EBITDAR does not paint a complete picture or offer a true measure of how profitable a business is. In some cases, it can be used to hide poor choices. A company could use this metric to avoid showing things like high-interest loans or aging equipment that will be costly to replace.
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When to Use EBITDAR
EBITDAR is commonly used when evaluating businesses in industries with significant rent or lease costs, such as hospitality, retail, or airlines. It provides a clearer view of operational performance by excluding expenses like interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and rent.
This metric is particularly useful for comparing companies with different lease or property ownership structures, as it standardizes performance across various financial arrangements. Investors and analysts rely on EBITDAR to assess profitability before accounting for non-operational costs, helping them understand the core earnings potential of a company, especially in rent-heavy sectors.
Example of EBITDAR
Here is the income statement for Company X for 2024:
| Revenue | $800,000 |
|---|---|
| COGS | $150,000 |
| Gross Profit | $650,000 |
| Operating expenses: | |
| Rent | $5,000 |
| Depreciation | $25,000 |
| Amortization | $15,000 |
| Marketing | $5,000 |
| Administrative | $5,000 |
| Total Operating Expenses: | $55,000 |
| Interest | $20,000 |
| Taxes | $120,000 |
| Net Income: | $455,000 |
To use Company X’s income statement to arrive at EBITDAR, you would add back interest ($20,000), taxes ($120,000), depreciation ($25,000), amortization ($15,000), and rent ($5,000) to arrive at an EBITDAR of $640,000 for 2024.
Pros and Cons of Using EBITDAR
| Pros of Using EBITDAR | Cons of Using EBITDAR |
|---|---|
| Helps analysts zero-in on a company’s operational efficiency and performance | Taxes, interest, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring/rental costs are still expenses that affect a company’s cash flow |
| Enables analysts to compare companies with different non-cash, non-recurring, and non-operating costs | Not regulated by GAAP |
| Show a company’s operating cash flow | There are many ways for companies to manipulate their EBITDAR numbers to mislead investors |
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EBITDAR vs EBITDA
EBITDAR and EBITDA are both metrics used to measure a company’s operational performance. The key difference is that EBITDAR also excludes rent costs, making it particularly useful for industries with high lease expenses, like retail or hospitality.
EBITDA, on the other hand, focuses on core earnings without factoring in non-operational costs like depreciation and interest. While both metrics assess profitability, EBITDAR offers a more specific view in rent-heavy businesses, whereas EBITDA is more widely applicable.
EBITDAR vs EBIT
EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and EBITDAR are both metrics used to evaluate a company’s operational performance. EBIT focuses on core earnings by excluding interest and tax expenses, making it a key measure of profitability. EBITDAR takes this a step further by also excluding depreciation, amortization, and rent, providing a clearer view of a company’s operational performance in rent-heavy industries like hospitality or retail.
While EBIT is widely applicable, EBITDAR is particularly useful for comparing businesses with significant lease obligations.
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EBITDAR vs Net Income
EBITDAR and net income are both profitability metrics, but they measure different aspects of a company’s performance. EBITDAR focuses on operational earnings by excluding key expenses like interest, taxes, rent, depreciation, and amortization, offering insight into core operations.
Net income, on the other hand, is the company’s total profit after all expenses, including non-operational costs like interest, taxes, and depreciation, are deducted. While EBITDAR helps assess operational efficiency, net income reflects overall profitability and is more comprehensive for understanding a company’s financial health.
The Takeaway
EBITDAR, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs, is a valuation metric of a firm’s profitability without considering the tax rate and the capital structure of the company. It aims to measure a company’s profitability from its core operations.
While similar to EBITDA, EBITDAR goes a step further by removing the effects of rent or restructuring costs. This makes it a better tool for companies that have non-recurring or highly variable rent or restructuring costs, such as casinos and restaurants.
Calculating EBITDAR can be helpful for seeing how your business performs from one quarter or year to the next, as well as how it compares to other businesses in your industry. It may also come into play if you’re applying for a business loan. Banks and other lenders often look at EBITDAR (or EBITDA) when deciding whether your business is a risk they’re willing to take on.
If you’re seeking financing for your business, SoFi is here to support you. On SoFi’s marketplace, you can shop and compare financing options for your business in minutes.
FAQ
What is the difference between EBITDAR and EBITDA?
EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs) and EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) are very similar metrics. The only difference is that with EBITDAR, restructuring or rental costs are also added back to net income.
Is EBITDAR the same thing as gross profit?
No. Gross profit is calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold (COGS) from revenue. Unlike EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs), gross profit does not include non-production costs.
What is the formula for calculating EBITDAR?
To calculate EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs), you add certain non-recurring, non-operating, and non-cash expenses back to net income. The formula is: Net income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization + Restructuring/ Rental Costs = EBITDAR.
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