Profit, or loss, is an accounting exercise. Nothing more, nothing less. A business can show it is profitable while bleeding cash or losing money while making people rich. It is simply a matter of what numbers you put in which column in the ledger to achieve the desired number on the bottom line.  P/E isn't really much better given the company is providing the earnings portion of the ratio and can achieve a low number even if leveraged heavily.  What is reported, in large part, depends on what result the company is looking to achieve from investors.  Let the buyer beware, right?