Break-Even and Shutdown Points
From Figure 4 certain other insights may be obtained. There are two points
at which total revenue is equal to total cost, and thus profit is zero. These points
are called the break- even points. Between the break-even points the enterprise
will make a profit, but outside of these it will suffer a loss. The lower or left-hand
break-even point is of special interest to the analysts since this is the level of,
production that must be reached to get the enterprise out of the red. Many of the
decisions of the enterprise about its activities depend heavily on the answer to the
question; "Will the venture be able to operate at or above its break-even point?