GAAP has adjustments for industries. Types of businesses where COGS is very high frequently have Gross and Net revenue rather than revenue and Gross income because of the difficulty in finding signal in costs and margins. Not to mention that a market maker with $1B in revenue can support orders of magnitude less interest expenses than a software firm with the "same" revenue.
Not all business analysis and important ratios depend on earnings, however defined. Thus the importance of a Net Revenue figure that then has typical expenses deducted from it to get to EBITDA.
Not all business analysis and important ratios depend on earnings, however defined. Thus the importance of a Net Revenue figure that then has typical expenses deducted from it to get to EBITDA.