Shares of Small-cap Data Processing Services company Professional Diversity Network were up 2.54% during today's premarket session, as the S&P 500 posted a 0.66% change. Today's upwards movement shows that investor interest in IPDN stock is strong -- but how closely have they studied the company's margins?
While Professional Diversity Network's gross margins for the last year are positive, we are concerned that the company's operating margins are in the red. Gross margins take into account only the cost of revenue, or variable costs -- meaning the cost directly associated with producing the products or providing the service offered by the company.
Operating margins, on the other hand, take into account the company's overhead as well. Overhead, also called fixed costs, includes the company's rent, salaries for personnel not included in cost of revenue, equipment and supplies, amortization, and depreciation. Operating margins tell you about how efficiently Professional Diversity Network is run, and gross margins tell you how profitable its product line is.
| Date Reported | Revenue (k) | Cost of Revenue (k) | Gross Margin | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-31 | $6,099 | $1,524 | 75.01% | -8.9% |
| 2020-12-31 | $4,457 | $787 | 82.34% | -0.07% |
| 2019-12-31 | $5,025 | $884 | 82.4% | 1.84% |
| 2018-12-31 | $8,448 | $1,000 | 80.91% | -7.84% |
| 2017-12-31 | $22,054 | $2,693 | 87.79% | n/a |
Professional Diversity Network's gross margins are currently in the green, but this might not be the case for long. Since its cost of revenue is growing at a rate of 2% compared to -15.34% for its revenues, its gross margins have been shrinking -2.99% on average each year.
| Date Reported | Revenue (k) | Operating Expenses (k) | Operating Margin | YoY Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-31 | $6,099 | $7,640 | -47.4% | 56.4% |
| 2020-12-31 | $4,457 | $10,013 | -108.72% | -82.35% |
| 2019-12-31 | $5,025 | $7,068 | -59.62% | 65.36% |
| 2018-12-31 | $8,448 | $23,471 | -172.1% | -63.13% |
| 2017-12-31 | $22,054 | $39,298 | -105.5% | n/a |
The table above tells us that, on average, Professional Diversity Network has not been profitable over the last four years, which should be a warning sign to prospective investors. Indeed, the company's operating margins are sinking at rate of -4.74%
