Why is marginal cost equal to marginal revenue?
James Williams
Published Apr 07, 2026
If marginal revenue is higher than marginal cost, then the company can continue to make more money by making more units. A company's maximum profitability, then, can be reached when marginal costs equal marginal revenues. This concept stands even when a business' output is intangible.
Similarly, is marginal revenue always equal to marginal cost?
A company experiences the best results when production and sales continue until marginal revenue equals marginal cost. Beyond that point, the cost of producing an additional unit will exceed the revenue generated.
Furthermore, what happens when marginal cost is less than marginal revenue? When marginal revenue is less than the marginal cost of production, a company is producing too much and should decrease its quantity supplied until marginal revenue equals the marginal cost of production.
Secondly, at what level of output does marginal cost equal marginal revenue?
The profit-maximizing choice for a perfectly competitive firm will occur at the level of output where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost—that is, where MR = MC. This occurs at Q = 80 in the figure.
What happens when marginal cost is higher than marginal revenue?
If a firm is producing at a level where marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost, then by producing one more unit the firm can gain more revenue than it loses in cost and thereby makes a marginal profit. MR < MC: the firm is producing too much and can increase profit by decreasing output.