Profitability is about whether a business or an activity makes a profit — and often how much, or how well it can keep doing so. People talk about the profitability of a shop, a product, or a whole industry. Though actually, it is not the same as profit. Profit is the money left after you pay the costs. Profitability is more like the power or the pattern: does this usually make money? Is it a good money-making machine? A company might have a lucky profit one year and still have poor profitability if the way it works is weak. This is a business and news word, quite formal. Ordinary talk more often just says “Does it make money?”