Moneyball News - Winter 2026
MONEYBALL NEWS
When Your People Think Like Owners, Everyone Wins
Why Moneyball News?
Remember the movie? It wasn't about numbers—it was about seeing potential in people others overlooked.
That's what we do. We help your store teams gain the clarity your top performers already have. When people understand what drives success, they become owners of their results.
"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success.
You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world,
but if they don't play together,
the club won't be worth a dime."
—Babe Ruth
1895-1948
TRADITIONAL PROFIT & LOSS FRAMEWORK
| PER STORE | PER UNIT | |
|---|---|---|
| UNITS | 10 | |
| REVENUE | $100,000 | $10,000 |
| EXPENSES | ($88,000) | ($8,800) |
| STORE PROFIT | $12,000 |
$1,200
|
Basis of decision making
CONTRIBUTION MARGIN FRAMEWORK
Contribution Margin is Revenue less Variable Expenses. Each store's Fixed Costs like rent, insurance, and admin support are set at the start of each month whether you have $10,000 or $100,000 in revenue. The Contribution Margin Bucket is all the dollars generated by operations to cover fixed costs and generate profit.
| PER STORE | PER UNIT | |
|---|---|---|
| UNITS | 10 | |
| REVENUE | $100,000 | $10,000 |
| VARIABLE EXPENSES | ($60,000) | ($6,000) |
CONTRIBUTION MARGIN
|
$40,000 |
$4,000
|
| FIXED EXPENSES | ($28,000) | ($2,800) |
| STORE PROFIT | $12,000 | $1,200 |
Basis of decision making
Contributon Margin Theory
Why important? To clearly understand the impact of operational production on the bottom line. It provides the knowledge of why profits sky rocket (or why February's 28 days may bring the winter blues).
Key Benefits of Contribution Margin Theory
Identifies Key Input Driver
Let's say you have $28,000 in Fixed Cost per store each month. Each unit producing revenue delivers on average of $4,000 Contribution Margin. Thus, your Break-Even point is 7 units and a target of 10 units provides $12,000 in profit each month per store.
Two Year Development Period
Contribution Margin helps you see that it is better to add a unit at $1,000 Contribution Margin than not add them at all. A new unit still contributes to the Contribution Bucket. We find new hires typically take 2 years to develop - an investment worth making as $1,000 now can turn into the $4,000 average by Month 24."
Understanding Utilization
Optimizing your capacity delivers the gravy train of profits. Any unused space is contributing $0 to your fixed cost. That's why your best-performing locations aren't always the ones with the highest revenue per unit—they're the ones running at full capacity. Finding ways to utilize your space drives more into the Contribution Bucket.
Price and Promotion Impact
Do you feel you are giving away too much in price or promotion? Would you rather sell 30 units at $2,500 ($75,000 Contribution Margin) or 50 units at $2,000 ($100,000 Contribution Margin)? Contribution Margin Theory helps you think about capacity yield compared to profit per sale.
Fixed Costs: $28,000 for facility, insurance, admin support and other fixed costs per store.
Contribution Margin: $4,000 Per Unit [Revenue $10,000 less Variable Cost $6,000 Per Unit].
Taking it a step further Contribution Margin per Selling Day is $185 Per Unit. In a 22 Selling Day Month, Contribution Margin is $4,070, while in February it falls to $3,700—nothing to do with performance, simply less days to produce.
What's your magic number? How is your Contribution Bucket impacted by people, utilization, new hires, price and promotions? Those are questions Contribution Margin Theory helps answer with confidence.
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