Gain or loss on sale of assets

A gain or loss on the sale of assets is the difference between what a company receives for an asset and the value it carried that asset at on its balance sheet. It applies to equipment, buildings, business units and investments.

If a company sells a building carried at $40 million for $50 million, it records a $10 million gain. Sold for $30 million, it would record a $10 million loss.

These gains and losses come from one time sales, not from the ongoing business, so they can make earnings in a given quarter look stronger or weaker than the business itself. On the cash flow statement they are reversed out of operating cash flow, and the full sale price appears in the investing section instead.