The concept of an idealised “unique” stage characteristic is employed to analyse and understand the performance of axial compressors. It is shown that there exists a “matching” line across the compressor characteristics at any point of which all the stages are operating at the same point of their “unique” stage characteristic, and that this matching line is readily obtainable, almost from inspection. Simple calculations lead to a derivation of both this “unique” characteristic and the effective area ratio of the compressor. The behaviour of the stages at other points than the matching line is readily understandable and presents a simpler picture of compressor performance than is often obtainable from actually measured stage characteristics.