resulting in a lower overall expense ratio. In addition, investors have become more cost-conscious. It's certainly easier to find this data than a few decades ago—they're increasingly choosing ...

In either situation, the variable cost is the charge for the raw materials (either $0.50 per pound or $0.48 per pound). You can find a company's variable costs on their balance sheet under cost of ...

while a buyer prefers a ratio closer to 90%. Image source: Getty Images. Exactly where the two parties meet on that spectrum depends on many variables, the biggest being overall market conditions.