Some businesses can hand the expense straight on to the customer.

Government 'cost plus' contracts are that for example. If you are contracted to build a bridge, the concernment will pay for all the hours your employees worked on it, and all the concrete and steel they bought for it, and some profit percentage.

Unless that $9 expense was facilitating a $400,000 sale. I’ve had a number of those $9 expenses over the years.

Sometimes the $9 expense lead to a +$100 value, but not for the private partner operator of the facility.