There are certain modes of operation in microeconomics. These related to the ways a company can make or lose a profit.
It is usually assumed that most companies will make profit making decisions that will be successful. Therefore there are four ways that this can be determined. First their profit equates to their output, times the difference between the price and the overall cost. Second, the profit made is equal to the price when maximum output is achieved. Third, minimal profit uses the offsetting part of the fixed and variable costs. Fourth, profits are lost because at maximum output a discounted price is less than the overall costs.