red ink

noun [U] informal

Definition

› a situation in which a company is losing a lot of money: The line between profitability and red ink in a bookstore is so thin that even the little decisions are important.bleed/leak/spill red ink The parent company has been falling apart for several months, bleeding red ink, and losing clients.the flow/tide/sea of red ink The boom a decade ago has now given way to a sea of red ink.

(Definition of red ink noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)