Breakeven

Break Even

1. To make the sales or revenues necessary to cover costs and prevent a firm from operating at a loss. The breakeven may be relatively stable or it may fluctuate, depending on the company or industry. Companies with high breakevens tend to have large fluctuations in earnings from year to year.

2. To sell a security at a price that causes the seller to neither make a profit nor lose money on the sale.

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breakeven

1. The level of output or sales necessary to cover fixed expenses. Companies in industries that have high fixed costs and, consequently, high breakevens, such as automobile and steel manufacturing, are likely to exhibit large fluctuations in earnings.

2. The price at which a security position can be closed out with no profit or loss.