Segment revenue data in a US 10-K shows revenue and profit for each reportable segment, the units a company's chief operating decision maker uses to allocate resources under ASC 280, and since fiscal 2024 also the significant expenses behind each segment's profit. It is the most direct evidence of where a company actually earns its money.
The segment note is not the only split in a 10-K: revenue is also broken down by geography and by product or service, and the three cuts answer different questions. Below we explain the rules and read the FY2025 10-Ks of Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) and Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META), two companies whose segments tell very different stories.
How ASC 280 defines a reportable segment
ASC 280 uses the "management approach": an operating segment is a part of the business whose results the chief operating decision maker (CODM), usually the CEO, reviews regularly to decide where resources go. Operating segments that meet a 10% threshold of revenue, profit or assets become reportable segments, and together the reportable segments must cover at least 75% of external revenue. The rest goes into an "all other" category.
Because the segments mirror the internal reporting, two companies in the same industry can report very different segment structures, and segment profit is measured the way management measures it, which need not be operating income under GAAP. Every 10-K therefore includes a reconciliation from segment totals to the consolidated figures.
Significant segment expenses: the newer ASU 2023-07 disclosure
ASU 2023-07, effective for fiscal years beginning after 15 December 2023 and for interim periods a year later, added requirements to ASC 280:
Significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the CODM and included in segment profit, such as cost of sales or research and development, by segment.
Other segment items: the remainder that bridges revenue less significant expenses to segment profit.
The CODM's title and position, and how the CODM uses the profit measure.
Interim disclosure of segment profit and assets in the 10-Q, not only the 10-K.
The same rules for companies with a single reportable segment.
For readers, the change means a 10-K now shows not just that a segment's margin moved, but which cost lines moved it.
Segment vs geography vs product: three cuts of the same revenue
How management runs it
ASC 280 reportable segments, with revenue, segment profit and significant expenses. The only cut that comes with profit.
Where the revenue comes from
Entity-wide disclosure of revenue by country or region. Revenue only, and the basis (customer location, user location) is the company's choice.
What is being sold
Revenue by product or service line, often from the ASC 606 disaggregation note. Useful for mix, silent on profit.
Worked example: Caterpillar's segment revenue data for FY2025
Caterpillar reports three machinery segments plus Financial Products. The table shows segment sales from the XBRL segment note and segment profit from the MD&A for fiscal 2025, with the 2024 comparatives.
| Segment | Sales FY2025 (FY2024) | Segment profit FY2025 (FY2024) | Profit / sales FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction Industries | $25,060 million ($25,455 million) | $4,675 million ($6,165 million) | 18.7% |
| Resource Industries | $12,474 million ($12,471 million) | $1,988 million ($2,538 million) | 15.9% |
| Power & Energy | $27,143 million ($24,088 million) | $6,418 million ($5,736 million) | 23.6% |
| Financial Products | $4,220 million ($4,053 million) | $966 million ($932 million) | 22.9% |
Source: Caterpillar Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2025 (segment note in SEC XBRL; MD&A p. 33), via Clarifo segment data as of 28 October 2026; USD. Profit / sales is our calculation from reported figures.1
Consolidated sales and revenues were $67,589 million in 2025, up 4%, and the operating profit margin fell to 16.5% from 20.2%.1 The segment data shows where the fall came from: Construction Industries profit dropped by $1,490 million (24%) and Resource Industries by $550 million (22%), while Power & Energy grew profit by $682 million (12%) and became the largest segment by both sales and profit. The 10-K attributes Construction Industries' 2% sales decline primarily to unfavorable price realization of $1.136 billion, partly offset by $568 million of higher sales volume.
Two reading notes. Segment sales are reported before eliminations, so they do not add up to consolidated revenue; "Corporate items and eliminations" (a $2,189 million charge to Machinery, Power & Energy profit in 2025) and "Consolidating adjustments" bridge the gap. And the segment names change: Power & Energy appears in the 2024 10-K as Energy & Transportation with the same $24,088 million of 2024 sales, which is why our segment data tracks the line across the rename.
Worked example: Meta's two segments, one of them loss-making
Meta Platforms reports two segments: Family of Apps (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and related services) and Reality Labs (consumer hardware such as Meta Quest and AI glasses, plus software and content). The table sets out revenue and income from operations by segment for fiscal 2025.
| Segment | Revenue FY2025 (FY2024) | Income (loss) from operations FY2025 (FY2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Family of Apps | $198,759 million ($162,355 million) | $102,469 million ($87,109 million) |
| Reality Labs | $2,207 million ($2,146 million) | $(19,193) million ($(17,729) million) |
| Total income from operations | $83,276 million ($69,380 million) |
Source: Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2025 (segment note in SEC XBRL; MD&A p. 75), via Clarifo segment data as of 28 October 2026; USD.2
Family of Apps earned an operating margin of 51.6% (our calculation from reported figures). Reality Labs brought in $2,207 million of revenue and lost $19,193 million, a loss 8% larger than in 2024. The 10-K says 82% of total costs and expenses were recognized in Family of Apps and 18% in Reality Labs, and that Meta expects 2026 Reality Labs operating losses to remain similar to 2025.2 None of this is visible in the consolidated income statement, where the two businesses net to one operating income line.
Meta's geographic disclosure answers a different question. For fiscal 2025 it reports revenue of $78,866 million in US & Canada, $53,817 million in Asia-Pacific, $46,569 million in Europe and $21,714 million in Rest of World. It shows where the revenue comes from, but attaches no profit to any region.
Reading segment revenue data in Clarifo
For US companies we hold the segment, geographic and product axes each company reports in its XBRL, by fiscal year and quarter, with each value linked to its 10-K or 10-Q. On a company page you can see which axes a company uses before you compare it with a peer, and in Claude or ChatGPT you can rank segments across companies:
Using Clarifo, show Caterpillar's segment sales and segment profit for FY2024 and FY2025, and explain which segment drove the change in operating margin. Cite the 10-K page for each figure.
For a single-company deep dive in the same style, see how to use Clarifo to read Nvidia beyond the headline numbers.
Open a company page to see its reportable segments, geographic split and product lines over time, each figure linked to the filing.
Caterpillar Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2025, segment information (XBRL) and Item 7 MD&A, pp. 33 and following: SEC EDGAR; Form 10-K for fiscal 2024 (Energy & Transportation segment): SEC EDGAR.
Meta Platforms, Inc., Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2025, segment and geographical information (XBRL) and Item 7 MD&A, pp. 63 and 75: SEC EDGAR.
Not investment advice. Figures are based on data reported by the companies.