Final answer:
Whether a company makes a profit or incurs a loss when selling laptops depends on the selling price relative to average cost, marginal cost, and average variable cost. The zero-profit point is when the price equals the average cost. The shutdown point is when the price equals the average variable cost.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine if a company is making a profit or loss selling laptops at different prices, one must consider the average cost (AC), marginal cost (MC), and average variable cost (AVC). The zero-profit point is the price where total revenue equals total cost. Conversely, the shutdown point is where the price equals the AVC and any price below would result in a loss if the company continues operations.
For instance, if the firm sells the laptops for $500, and assuming that the AC is less than $500, the firm would make a profit which could be shown as the area between the price and the AC curve. However, if the laptops are sold at $300 and the AC is higher than $300, the firm would incur a loss, represented by the area between the AC curve and the price line.
Sketched graphs, which I cannot display here, would show the visual representation of profit or loss by illustrating where price, AC, MC, and AVC curves intersect.