Survey finds operating expenses key to profit for software publishers. (Software Publishers...

Profitability for software publishers is driven by operating expense ratios, not gross margins, according to the findings of a study recently released by the Software Publishers Association (SPA). The 1994 Software Industry Financial Survey found that while gross margins (revenues minus cost of goods sold) measured as a percentage of revenues were similar for software companies of all sizes, ranging from about 73 percent to 82 percent, operating expenses as a percentage of revenues varied widely. For the smallest companies (annual revenues less than $2 million), the latter percent