Relationship Between Operating Leverage and Financial Risk
All strategic investment decisions are going to involve some degree of risk. Risk entails not only the profitable versus unprofitable dichotomy, but also the variability in earnings or losses emanating from an investment project. One dimension of the risk-management question is captured in the concept of operating leverage. Operating leverage is the degree of magnification of earnings or losses (expressed as cash flows or profits) set off by different levels of output. The magnification results from the variable cost versus fixed cost mix in an investment period. Generally the higher the level of fixed commitment in relation to variable costs, the greater is the leverage (and magnification). This, of course, is the central notion in the familiar break-even analysis, where concern is given not only to the break-even point, but also the levels of earnings or losses around it. Operating leverage is a double-edged sword, however. Like financial leverage, operating Continue reading