Infographic: Profit, Loss and Discount | Quantitative Aptitude (Quant) - CAT PDF Download

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Infographic: Profit, Loss and Discount
Cost Price (CP)
Amount paid to purchase a 
product. Includes fixed 
costs (constant) and 
variable costs (varies with 
quantity).
Selling Price (SP)
Amount for which a 
product is sold. The 
difference between SP and 
CP determines profit or 
loss.
Marked Price (MP)
Price at which item is 
marked. MP = CP + 
Markup. After discount, SP 
< MP.
Core Formulae
1
Profit & Loss
Profit = SP 2 CP
Loss = CP 2 SP
Profit % = (Profit/CP) × 100
Loss % = (Loss/CP) × 100
2
SP from CP
For Profit: SP = {(100 + P%)/100} × CP
For Loss: SP = {(100 2 L%)/100} × CP
3
CP from SP
For Profit: CP = {100/(100 + P%)} × SP
For Loss: CP = {100/(100 2 L%)} × SP
4
Discount
Discount = MP 2 SP
Discount % = (Discount/MP) × 100
SP = MP 2 Discount
Special Cases & Tricks
Same SP, Different 
Profit/Loss
If two items sold at same 
price with x% profit and x% 
loss, always results in loss.
Loss % = x²/100
Successive Profits
Two successive profits m% 
and n%:
Net Profit % = m + n + 
(mn/100)
Profit & Loss 
Combined
Profit m% and loss n%:
Net % = m 2 n 2 (mn/100)
Dishonest Dealer Formula
False Weight Calculation
(100 + G)/(100 + x) = True weight/False 
weight
Where G = Overall gain %, x = % loss or 
gain
Selling at Cost Price
Gain % = [(True weight 2 False 
weight)/False weight] × 100
Use when dealer claims to sell at CP but 
uses false weights.
Break-Even & Margin
Key Concepts
Margin = SP 2 Variable Cost
Break-Even Point = Fixed Costs/Margin per 
unit
Profit = (Actual Sales 2 BEP Sales) × Margin 
per unit
Loss = (BEP Sales 2 Actual Sales) × Margin per 
unit
Example
Fixed costs: ¹5,000/month
Pen SP: ¹5, Variable cost: ¹2.5
Margin: ¹2.5 per pen
BEP = 5000 ÷ 2.5 = 2,000 pens
EduRev Tip: Master the successive profit/loss formula and dishonest dealer problems4
these are high-scoring areas. Practice identifying whether profit/loss is on CP or SP, as this 
is a common trap in competitive exams.