NOI vs. EBITDA (2024)

Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding the NOI vs. EBITDA Difference

Last Updated February 20, 2024

What’s the Difference Between NOI vs. EBITDA?

NOI and EBITDA are two similar measures of profitability in real estate with some key differences.

NOI vs. EBITDA (1)

NOI vs. EBITDA: What is the Difference?

Net Operating Income Definition (NOI)

NOI is a real estate metric that stands for “net operating income” and measures the profitability of an income-generating real asset.

Since NOI allows an investor to gauge the profitability of a real asset and eliminate the effects of corporate-level expenses, this metric is often considered the most important profitability measure in real estate.

NOI eliminates the effects of these corporate-level expenses by isolating the core operating profits of the real asset in question, namely by excluding non-operating items such as depreciation, interest, taxes, corporate-level SG&A expenses, Capex, and financing payments.

The net operating income (NOI) can be calculated using the following formula.

NOI Formula
  • NOI = Rental and Ancillary Income – Direct Real Estate Expenses

Learn More → Net Operating Income (NOI)

EBITDA Definition

EBITDA measures a company’s profitability before the effects of certain accounting or financial decisions.

Since it is a non-GAAP measure of profitability, companies are not required to report EBITDA on their financial statements.

However, investors will almost always use a company’s GAAP measures to determine EBITDA, given the metric’s usefulness in assessing profitability.

When comparing companies, investors will often use EBITDA as the metric of comparison as opposed to net income, given that EBITDA eliminates the effects of certain non-operating items that may be the result of accounting decisions or financing provisions.

EBITDA is found by taking a company’s earnings before interest and taxes, also known as operating income, and then adding back depreciation and amortization.

EBITDA Formula
  • EBITDA = Operating Income + Depreciation + Amortization
  • EBITDA = Net Income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization

Learn More → EBITDA

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NOI vs. EBITDA: What are the Differences?

While both NOI and EBITDA are two commonly used measures of profitability that exclude the effects of certain non-operating expenses, there are some key differences between the two.

The major difference is the use case of each metric.

  • NOI →Given the property-specific nature of NOI, it is usually used to measure the profitability of a property, whether it be commercial or residential.
  • EBITDA →On the other hand, EBITDA is used to measure the profitability of a company as a whole.

Another difference between the two relates to what is excluded when calculating each measure.

With NOI, more line items are excluded to capture property-level profitability, such as SG&A.

For real estate properties, NOI accounts for the lost revenue caused by tenant vacancies, while EBITDA does not.

To conclude, NOI and EBITDA are two universally used measures of operating profitability, but NOI is intended for real estate properties and thus has more add-backs to isolate the pure operating income generated by the properties themselves.

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NOI vs. EBITDA (2024)

FAQs

When to use EBITDA vs Noi? ›

While EBITDA is used to assess a company's financial performance, NOI is primarily used to assess an investment's profitability in a piece of residential or commercial real estate.

Which is more important EBITDA or net income? ›

Since EBITDA shows income before non-cash expenses (expenses like depreciation and amortization that are recorded on an income statement without any cash changing hands), it's a better indicator than net income of a business's ability to bring in cash.

Should EBITDA be higher than operating income? ›

Which is higher: EBITDA or Operating Income? Typically speaking, EBITDA should be higher than operating income because it includes income plus interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.

Why most people do analyze EBITDA instead of net profit? ›

EBITDA is often used when comparing the performance of two different companies of various sizes. Since it casts aside costs such as taxes, interest, amortization, and depreciation, it can yield a clearer picture of the money-generating performance of the two businesses compared to net income.

When not to use EBITDA? ›

Inaccurate Representation of Cash Flow: EBITDA overlooks changes in working capital, meaning it can inflate cash flow if a business has substantial growth in receivables or inventory.

Should EBITDA be higher than gross profit? ›

Gross profit should be greater than EBITDA because it does not consider the operating expenses built into the EBITDA calculation. EBITDA and gross profit are designed to measure different things.

Why is EBITDA preferred? ›

Many proponents of EBITDA say that it provides a much better idea of profitability and growth trends when the cost of capital is removed from the picture. Ironically, EBITDA provides a good metric for gauging a business's ability to service debt when examining a potential leveraged buyout (LBO).

Why use EBITDA multiple instead of revenue? ›

The enterprise value-to-revenue (EV/R) looks at a companies revenue-generating ability, while the enterprise value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA)—also known as the enterprise multiple—looks at a company's ability to generate operating cash flows.

Why do investors look at EBITDA? ›

By looking at EBITDA, we can determine the underlying profitability of a company's operations, allowing for easier comparison to another business.

Does noi include depreciation? ›

NOI equals all revenue from the property, minus all reasonably necessary operating expenses. NOI is a before-tax figure, appearing on a property's income and cash flow statement, that excludes principal and interest payments on loans, capital expenditures, depreciation, and amortization.

Does EBITDA include salaries? ›

Ebitda includes all revenue generated by the business minus any expenses related to production such as cost of goods sold, operating expenses like wages and salaries, research and development costs and other overhead expenses.

What is a good EBITDA margin? ›

An EBITDA margin of 10% or more is typically considered good, as S&P 500-listed companies generally have higher EBITDA margins between 11% and 14%.

What does Warren Buffett use instead of EBITDA? ›

Eventually, he was forced to close the business because he couldn't generate enough cash. That's why when Warren Buffett looks at companies, he gauges their value on their free cash flow, not their EBITDA. He wants to know whether there will be any cash in the black box at the end of the year.

Is noi the same as EBITDA? ›

No, NOI is not the same as EBITDA. While both are critical for determining a property's profitability, they represent different information.

What is more important, EBITDA or net income? ›

While EBITDA is a good indicator of operating performance, net income is a more comprehensive metric that reflects the total profitability of a business. 5. Startups and investors often use EBITDA to determine a company's profitability by looking at the company's cash flow.

What is the difference between net operating cash flow and EBITDA? ›

Operating cash flow tracks the cash flow generated by a business' operations, ignoring cash flow from investing or financing activities. EBITDA is much the same, except it doesn't factor in interest or taxes (both of which are factored into operating cash flow given they are cash expenses).

Is EBITDA the same as Nop? ›

NOPAT is after taxes, whereas EBITDA is prior to tax payments. EBITDA also includes other non-operating income. NOPAT accounts for depreciation and amortization charges, while EBITDA adds them back.

What is the primary difference between EBITDA and operating profit margin? ›

1) EBITDA's major focus is on the overall profitability. For operating margin, the focus is not just on profit made on each rupee spent. Operating margin also tells us how much money is in hand to pay the external expenses that take place outside the business operations.

When would you use EBIT vs EBITDA? ›

EBIT is net income before interest and taxes are deducted. EBITDA additionally excludes depreciation and amortization. EBIT is often used as a measure of operating profit; in some cases, it's equal to the GAAP metric operating income. Companies in asset intensive industries often prefer EBITDA over EBIT.

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