GEO.......I'm not trying to **** in your Wheaties. I'm trying to help you understand something that most people do not. EBITDA is a common bookkeeping scheme that many comapnies use to show earnings that may or may not be real. It is legal for companies to "change" the criteria of this formula every single reporting period. UNless you are extremely good at interpreting this data and you have access to all the past data....then you have no idea if a company is turning a profit using this accounting practice. I got this next bit of info for you to read, from a source better than me. See what you think:
If the EBITDA figure seems to have a good growth rate, then some investors may use this figure instead of the overall net figure. It can show them that the company has a future for potential growth and that they will get a return on their investment. Investors call this looking at the EBITDA margin rather than the net margin.
There are potential problems in using the EDITDA figure. The EBITDA leaves out of lot of expenses in the final figure, so it may not be a realistic view of a company’s profitability. It also does not measure the actual cash that is flowing into the company because of the figures that it leaves out.
There are a few factors that the EBITDA neglects. These include the money required for working capital, fixed expenses and other debt payments and capital expenditures. In every business, capital expenditures are a crucial, ongoing expense. However, this is not factored into the EBITDA figure, so investors need to be wary when using the EBITDA figure as a basis for a profit margin.
So, GEO......did they turn a profit? I certainly hope so, but we won't know until Waco gets his "profit-sharing" check. LIke I said, I hope those guys keep us posted. Good luck to everyone!