Other Operating Income

Category

Income Statement

Units

Currency

US-GAAP elements

OtherOperatingIncomeOtherOperatingIncomeExpenseNetGainLossOnSaleOfPropertyPlantEquipment

Reference

ASC 220, Income Statement

Source

Reported in SEC EDGAR filings (US-GAAP XBRL taxonomy)

Other operating income is income that arises from a company's normal business operations but is not part of its main revenue and is not reported on a more specific line. It is added in arriving at operating income, rather than being reported below it with non-operating items.

Typical examples include gains on selling equipment or other operating assets, royalty or licensing income outside the main business, government grants related to operations, and insurance recoveries on operating losses.

The XBRL element OtherOperatingIncome covers operating income items associated with normal revenue-producing activity whose components are not separately disclosed. Many companies instead report a single net figure for other operating income and expense, tagged OtherOperatingIncomeExpenseNet. Gains and losses on disposing of property, plant, and equipment, tagged GainLossOnSaleOfPropertyPlantEquipment, are a common component. Regulation S-X Rule 5-03 has no caption for other operating income. Its revenue caption covers sales, operating revenues, rentals, services, and other revenues, so companies decide whether such items belong in revenue, in operating income, or below operating income.

The distinction from revenue matters. Revenue under ASC 606 comes from contracts with customers for the company's goods and services. A gain on selling a used truck or a warehouse is not revenue, but because the asset was used in operations, many companies report the gain within operating income. The same logic places some government incentives and insurance proceeds here.

Analysts often question whether other operating income will recur. A single large asset sale can lift operating margin for a year without any improvement in the underlying business, so a spike in this line relative to revenue deserves a look at the notes. When comparing operating income across companies, it helps to check whether peers report similar gains in operating income or below it, since that choice can shift reported operating margins.