Continuous profits to scale occur if a certain percentage adjustment in all inputs results in an equivalent percentage adjustment in output. For example, if all inputs are increased, output also increases; a 15% growth in inputs leads to a 15% growth in output.

Growing profits to scale occurs if a certain percentage growth in all inputs results in a larger percentage change in output. For instance, a 15% growth in all inputs leads to a 30% growth in output. How can the company achieve more than continuous profits to scale? "By increasing its scale, the firm may be able to use new production methods that were infeasible at the smaller scale" (Samuelson & Marks, 2012, p. 199).

Samuelson, W., & Marks, S. G. (2012). Managerial economics (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Declining profits to scale occurs when production expands and the production process becomes less efficient. Profits decline when a company is too large to manage.