> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.chicago.global/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # NOPAT > Understanding net operating profit after tax - what the operating business earns after tax, before any effect of how it is financed NOPAT is net operating profit after tax. It measures what the operating business earns after paying tax on its own operations, ignoring how the business is financed. ## Beginner ### What It Means Reported net income mixes two different things: how well the business operates, and how it is funded. Interest expense reduces net income and reduces tax. NOPAT strips out that financing effect so you can see the operating business on its own terms. ### Example A company reports 200 of operating profit. Its operations would face a 25% tax rate. NOPAT is 200 × (1 − 0.25) = 150. That figure is the same whether the company funded itself entirely with equity or borrowed heavily. Net income would differ substantially between those two cases. ### Why It Matters Comparing two companies on net income confuses operating skill with leverage. NOPAT lets you compare the businesses first, then consider financing separately. It is also the starting point for both free cash flow and return on invested capital. *** ## Advanced ### How to Read It `NOPAT = EBIT × (1 − operating tax rate)` The operating tax rate is the rate the operations would face on their own, not the effective rate on reported income, which is distorted by the interest tax shield and by non-operating items. NOPAT anchors two other measures: `ROIC = NOPAT / beginning invested capital` `Reinvestment rate = net investment / NOPAT` ### Common Misreadings * **Using the reported effective tax rate**: it embeds the tax benefit of debt, which is exactly what NOPAT is meant to exclude. * **Starting from an unadjusted EBIT**: if leases, R\&D or one-off items distort operating profit, they distort NOPAT and everything built on it. * **Confusing NOPAT with cash**: NOPAT is still an accrual measure. Turning it into cash requires the depreciation, capital-expenditure and working-capital steps. ### In Parallax Reports Parallax separates operating and financing items during statement reconstruction, then carries a consistent operating tax basis through NOPAT, ROIC and FCFF. See [Growth, ROIC and Reinvestment](/methodology/valuation/growth-and-returns). ### Related Terms What NOPAT becomes after reinvestment NOPAT measured against the capital that produced it The denominator in that ratio