cash cowidiom / noun
kash kow
A product, service, or business that consistently generates large profits with little ongoing investment.
"iPhone is Apple's cash cow — it accounts for over 50% of the company's revenue."
golden gooseidiom / noun
GOHL-den goos
A reliable and highly valuable source of income or wealth that must be protected and not exploited to destruction. From Aesop's fable.
"Tourism is this country's golden goose — environmental damage could kill the industry supporting millions."
money pitidiom / noun
MUN-ee pit
A project, property, or venture that continuously requires more money than expected with little or no return.
"The renovation turned into a money pit — every wall they opened revealed a new problem."
bootstrapverb / noun
BOOT-strap
To start or grow a business using only personal resources, without external investment or loans.
"She bootstrapped her company to $1 million in revenue before accepting her first investor."
burn ratenoun phrase
burn rayt
The rate at which a company spends its cash reserves — especially used for startups before they become profitable.
"With a $200,000 monthly burn rate and $1.2 million in the bank, the startup had six months of runway."
in the redidiom
in thuh red
Operating at a loss; spending more than you earn; having a negative bank balance. From the practice of writing losses in red ink.
"The airline was in the red for three consecutive quarters before returning to profitability."
in the blackidiom
in thuh blak
Operating at a profit; earning more than you spend; having a positive bank balance. Opposite of "in the red."
"After years of losses, the company finally moved into the black in Q3."
bottom lineidiom / noun
BOT-um lyn
Net profit or loss — the final figure on a financial statement. Also used broadly to mean the most important point or final conclusion.
"The bottom line improved significantly — net profit rose from $12 million to $28 million." / "The bottom line is: we need more revenue."
ballpark figureidiom / noun
BAWL-park FIG-yer
A rough, approximate estimate — not an exact number, but close enough to be useful for planning purposes.
"I don't have exact numbers yet, but the ballpark figure for the renovation is around $50,000."
cut your lossesidiom
kut yor LAW-sez
To accept a partial loss and stop investing money, time, or energy in something that is failing — rather than losing even more.
"After three years of poor returns, they decided to cut their losses and sell the investment."
ahead of the curveidiom
uh-HED uv thuh kurv
More advanced, innovative, or progressive than the current trend — anticipating change before others do.
"The company was ahead of the curve on remote working — they implemented it years before COVID made it mainstream."
skin in the gameidiom
skin in thuh gaym
Having a personal financial stake in the outcome — you stand to gain or lose depending on the result.
"The founder retained 30% of the company — she has real skin in the game."
pennies on the dollaridiom
PEN-eez on thuh DOL-er
Acquiring something at a tiny fraction of its real or original value — a bargain, often during a crisis or distressed sale.
"During the crisis, distressed assets were available for pennies on the dollar."
on the moneyidiom
on thuh MUN-ee
Exactly right; precisely accurate — hitting the target perfectly.
"His forecast was on the money — growth came in at exactly 2.3% as he predicted."
foot the billidiom
fut thuh bil
To pay for something — especially something expensive or unexpected that someone else is responsible for.
"The government was forced to foot the bill for the bank's reckless lending."
the buck stops hereidiom
thuh buk stops heer
Ultimate responsibility rests with this person — they cannot pass blame or accountability to anyone else. Made famous by President Truman.
"As CEO, I take full responsibility for what happened — the buck stops here."
hedge your betsidiom
hej yor bets
To reduce risk by committing to more than one option simultaneously — protecting yourself if one choice fails.
"Rather than investing in a single market, she hedged her bets by diversifying globally."
golden handshakeidiom / noun
GOHL-den HAND-shayk
A large financial payment made to a senior executive upon leaving a company — voluntary or not.
"Despite the company's poor performance, the outgoing CEO received a golden handshake worth $12 million."
golden parachuteidiom / noun
GOHL-den PAIR-uh-shoot
A generous compensation package guaranteed to senior executives if they are dismissed — contractually agreed in advance.
"The golden parachute clause guaranteed the CEO $8 million if the company was acquired."
dead cat bounceidiom / noun
ded kat bownss
A temporary, short-lived recovery in a falling market — followed by a continued decline. Even a dead cat bounces if dropped from high enough.
"The 5% rally turned out to be a dead cat bounce — within a week the market fell to new lows."
cooking the booksidiom
KUK-ing thuh buks
Fraudulently manipulating or falsifying financial records to misrepresent a company's true financial position.
"The company had been cooking the books for years — actual losses were ten times what was reported."
back of the envelopeidiom
bak uv thuh EN-vuh-lohp
A rough, informal calculation done quickly — without precise data or formal analysis. Used when an approximate answer is sufficient.
"I did a back-of-the-envelope calculation — we need about $200,000 to reach profitability."
money talksidiom
MUN-ee tawks
Wealth has power and influence — people with money get what they want, regardless of other factors.
"In politics, money talks — the industries that donate most receive the most favorable legislation."
liquid assetsnoun phrase
LIK-wid AS-ets
Assets that can be quickly and easily converted to cash without a significant loss in value — cash, money market funds, short-term bonds.
"Keeping liquid assets available ensures you can respond to opportunities or emergencies without selling long-term investments."
a run on the bankidiom / noun phrase
uh run on thuh bank
A situation where many depositors simultaneously withdraw their money from a bank, fearing it will collapse — which can itself cause the collapse.
"Social media accelerated the run on Silicon Valley Bank — $42 billion was withdrawn in hours."