Excédent brut d’exploitation (French operating surplus)
The excédent brut d’exploitation measures the wealth generated by core operations before financial charges, taxes, and depreciation. It shows whether a business produces resources from its operating cycle, independent of its financial structure or accounting choices.
In practice
Bankers scrutinize this figure first when evaluating a loan application: it proves the core business works before any leverage question arises. An SEO agency posting €800k in revenue but a negative EBE is funding operations through debt — a sign of structural fragility. Calculated as revenue minus purchases, external costs, payroll, and taxes, it is read as a percentage of revenue to compare two networks across different sectors.