So what?

The question that forces an analyst to state the actual implication of a finding instead of just reporting a number.

So what? in practice

Hypothetical: an analyst reports that a company’s margin is below a selected peer group, and a partner asks, “So what?” The analyst explains that the next step is to check peer comparability and investigate the margin drivers before recommending a price change, operating action, or decision to walk away.

Pyramid principle · All of the glossary