What the figure represents
Revenue is the item listed at the very top of the income statement and is a basic figure representing the scale of a company's business activities. From there, costs such as cost of sales and selling, general and administrative expenses are deducted in stages, eventually arriving at net income.
Points to watch when reading it
Beyond the increase or decrease in revenue itself, it is helpful to also check its breakdown (existing versus new business, domestic versus overseas, and so on) as well as the ratio of each profit figure to revenue (profit margins), which together give a more well-rounded picture of a company's underlying business.