Looking at the Numbers -- Dickeson

Profit Leaders in the PIA (Printing Industries of America) Ratio Studies for the Year 2000 were the top one-fourth of 785 printing firms reporting. In this upper quartile were 198 companies with the highest reported profits for the year.

The remaining 587 companies were the lower three-fourths of the total. It may, or may not, be a "representative" sample since the 785 reporting companies weren't randomly selected. But we do have a large enough group of companies to be deserving of comment and study. The table shows the key figures.