surplus value

This term is a specialized technical concept primarily used within Marxist political economy and socialist theory. It describes the mechanism of exploitation where the worker produces more value than they receive in wages, with the remainder being captured by the capitalist as profit.

Because it is a theoretical construct rather than a standard accounting term, it is rarely used in mainstream corporate finance or neoclassical economics. In those contexts, terms like profit margin or added value are used instead, as they do not carry the inherent connotation of labor exploitation.