The return on investment can ordinarily be improved by either increasing sales, reducing expenses, or reducing operating assets, assuming each of the other factors remain unchanged.

Return on Investment (ROI) is calculated by dividing net operating income by average operating assets. Increasing sales while keeping expenses constant increases net operating income, thus improving ROI. Reducing expenses directly increases net operating income, also improving ROI. Reducing operating assets while maintaining the same net operating income increases the ROI ratio, as the denominator in the calculation is reduced.