Explain What a Profit and Loss Statement Is to a Non-Finance Person

It is a grid of numbers and words like gross margin and EBITDA and everyone else in the meeting appears to have strong opinions about it. This explains every section in plain English, tells you what the numbers actually mean, and gives you two things to look at first so you can follow the conversation.

You have just been given a company profit and loss statement and need to understand the basics. The company's name is {COMPANY_NAME}. Explain a P&L statement in plain English: what each section means (revenue, cost of goods sold, gross profit, operating expenses, and net profit), what the difference between revenue and profit is, what a healthy P&L looks like versus one that should prompt questions, and two things a non-financial person should look at first when reviewing one. Use concrete numbers to illustrate where helpful.