Finance review
Q3 budget variance
Where we landed against plan, what drove it, and the full-year outlook.
FP&AFictional company, sample deckOctober 2026
Operating income, Q3
$12.4M
$0.9M ahead of budget, 7.8 percent above.
Source: general ledger, September close
Income statement, Q3
| $M | Actual | Budget | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 48.2 | 47.0 | 1.2 |
| Cost of sales | (26.1) | (25.9) | (0.2) |
| Operating costs | (9.7) | (9.6) | (0.1) |
| Operating income | 12.4 | 11.5 | 0.9 |
Revenue variance by team
Sales delivered most of the $1.2M beat.
| Team | Favourable |
|---|---|
| Sales | 0.7 |
| Product | 0.3 |
| Support | 0.2 |
Margin
Margin held near a quarter
Margin = 12.4 ÷ 48.2 = 25.7%
- 12.4
- Operating income, $M
- 48.2
- Revenue, $M
- 24.5%
- Budget margin
Full-year outlook
- Raise revenue guidance by $2M to $190M.
- Hold the cost budget; fuel is hedged to year-end.
- Watch receivables: days sales outstanding rose to 47.