Comment by flextheruler

Yes it seems that this discussion that has sparked such controversy involves an already well defined concept in business.

Net margin versus gross margin.

Net shows profitability after extracting all expenses while gross only extracts the cost of the goods sold. Putting the model training costs into a one time fixed expense provides a much better gross margin.

This is known as COGS reclassification or classification shifting and is a common tactic to mislead investors.

This is why analysts look at Free Cash Flow Margin.

WorldCom and MicroStrategy did this before the Dotcom Bubble imploded.