Borcho Wrote:In 1999 Company X's gross profit is what percent of its revenue?
(1) In 1999 Company X's gross profit was 1/3 of its expenses
(2) In 1999 Company X's expenses were 3/4 of its revenue
I went with C. Yet answer is D. Which implies that GMAT assumes expenses = cost of goods sold (vs. operating expenses)??
gross profit is defined as
ALL REVENUES - ALL COSTS.
(this is the only reasonable way in which to define a gross profit -- it's just all the money that you bring in, minus all the money that you put out.)
When you say "revenue minus cost", that does NOT refer to the cost of
goods sold. (we don't even know whether company X is selling anything! what if it's a dance club, or a casino, or some other business that doesn't sell goods?)
the word "cost" in "revenue minus cost" refers to ALL costs, of any kind whatsoever.
so:
(statement 1)
Profit = Revenue - Expenses
(1/3)(expenses) = revenue - expenses
(4/3)(expenses) = revenue
therefore, we want (1/3)(expenses) as a percentage of (4/3)(expenses). that's something that we can find, so this statement is sufficient.
(statement 2)
this statement is the same as above --> if expenses = (3/4)(revenue), that's the same as (4/3)(expenses) = revenue. therefore, also sufficient.
(d)