Methodology

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is cloud infrastructure and customer-facing operations rather than physical materials. The Markup Ratio carries explicit context that COGS captures non-material inputs.

Applied to integrated oil, gas, and energy producers. COGS captures upstream extraction and downstream refining/distribution. Markup ratios in this sector are highly cyclical with commodity prices; sector medians normalize across cycles, so the composite z-score is more stable than any single-year ratio.

Applied to banks, insurers, asset managers, and exchanges. The standard Markup formulas (Revenue/COGS) are not meaningful here — banks have no Cost of Goods Sold; their economics run on interest spreads, premiums, and fees. The Shareholder Extraction ratio (which divides by R&D) is also not meaningful — financial firms typically report no R&D. The load-bearing indicators in this sector are Labor Share, Executive Extraction, and Capital Extraction (the universal share-of-net-income returned to shareholders). Markup-family rows are intentionally not computed for this sector; future methodology versions may add Net Interest Margin Inversion and Combined Ratio variants designed for bank and insurance economics.

Applied to packaged-food, beverage, and quick-service restaurant companies. COGS captures ingredients, packaging, and (for QSR) franchise-operated cost of revenue. The Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the cleaner signal because brand investment flows through SG&A — and Shareholder Extraction often runs high because mature consumer-staples brands return capital aggressively rather than reinvest.

Applied to companies whose primary cost basis is physical materials and manufacturing.

Applied to chemicals, industrial gases, mining, metals, and packaging companies. COGS captures raw material extraction, refining, and primary processing — this sector is the "stuff that becomes other stuff" layer of the economy. Markup ratios are cyclical with commodity input costs; sector medians are the right comparison. Shareholder Extraction is informative because materials companies face structural choices between buybacks and reinvestment in capacity.

Applied to pharmaceutical and integrated healthcare companies. COGS captures manufacturing of drugs, devices, and clinical services; R&D in this sector is capitalized into pipeline value rather than expensed-and-forgotten, so the Shareholder Extraction ratio carries explicit weight as an indicator of capital allocation priority.

Applied to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) — owners and operators of income-producing real estate. Revenue is rental income, not goods sold, so Markup ratios are not meaningful (no COGS in the traditional sense). REITs are legally required to distribute 90%+ of taxable income as dividends to maintain their tax-advantaged status, so the Capital Extraction ratio is structurally near or above 1.0 across the entire sector — the more interesting comparison is Labor Share (REITs run with small workforces relative to revenue) and Executive Extraction. Future methodology versions may add FFO/AFFO-based variants since GAAP Net Income is heavily distorted by depreciation in this sector.

Applied to brick-and-mortar and omnichannel retailers. COGS captures merchandise purchased for resale plus distribution, so the Markup Ratio is naturally compressed (retail margins are thin by structure); the load-bearing indicator is Labor Share, since retail employs millions of workers and pay-ratio disclosures are politically central to the sector.

Applied to fabless and integrated semiconductor companies. COGS captures wafer, foundry, packaging, and test costs; Operational Markup is the more cyclically-stable indicator across product cycles.

Applied to enterprise and developer-platform software companies. COGS captures hosting, support, and customer-success costs; the Markup Ratio is meaningful but the Operational Markup is the load-bearing indicator because most platform investment flows through OpEx (R&D, S&M).

Applied to wireless, broadband, and integrated communications carriers. COGS captures network cost of services; OpEx is dominated by SG&A and depreciation on enormous capital plants. Markup ratios understate the picture because the capital base isn't in COGS — Operational Markup is the more honest gross indicator. Shareholder Extraction is structurally high in this sector because mature carriers run large dividends.

Applied to airlines, parcel delivery, freight rail, and trucking. COGS captures fuel, crew, equipment maintenance, and direct operations. Capital intensity is high (fleets, terminals, networks); Operational Markup is the load-bearing signal because pure Markup ignores the depreciation and SG&A required to keep the network running. Labor Share is closely watched in this sector — most transport firms are unionized.

Applied to regulated electric, gas, and water utilities. COGS captures fuel and purchased power; rates are set by regulators with an allowed return on capital, so Markup is bounded by regulation rather than competition. The interesting indicators in this sector are Labor Share (workforce concentration) and Shareholder Extraction (regulated dividends vs grid investment).