Operating income is the profit earned from a company’s primary business operations or activities, while non-operating income refers to profits or losses that are not related directly to the company’s main operations. Operating income represents the financial performance of a company’s core operations and is used to measure the actual profitability of a business. In contrast, non-operating income can include things like gains from investments and other one-off sources such as government grants. While it can be helpful in gauging the overall profitability of a company, non-operating income should not be relied upon as an indicator of future success.