Investopedia definition
Net operating profit less adjusted taxes (NOPLAT) refers to total operating profits for a firm with adjustments made for taxes. It represents the profits generated from a company's core operations after subtracting the income taxes related to the core operations. It excludes income from non-operating assets or financing such as interest and includes only profits generated by invested capital. NOPLAT is the profit available to all equity stake holders including providers of debt, equity, other financing and to shareholders. NOPLAT is distinguished from net income which is the profit available to equity holders only. NOPLAT is often used as an input in creating discounted cash flow valuation models. (Aditya deo)
Used in preference to Net Income as it removes the effects of capital structure (debt vs. equity). The Operating Profit is prior to interest and taxes being subtracted, which makes NOPLAT equal NOPAT.
NOPLAT minus the monetary cost of all capital (both equity and debt) equals economic profit, which is quite similar to the trademarked EVA model.
Though an analyst should make thorough adjustments to account for amortization, intertemporal tax differences, taxes on nonoperating income, and other adjustments, sometimes the following simple back-of-the-envelope formula is employed to show de-levered profits by removing the effects of a debt tax shield:
Operating earnings = After-tax operating profit + (Interest paid * (1 - tax rate))