A whitepaper is a persuasive, authoritative, in-depth report on a specific topic that presents a problem and provides a solution. Marketers create whitepapers to educate their audience about a particular issue or explain and promote a particular methodology.
Typical objectives of white paper creation are:

1. Educating the audience
2. Looking under the wraps of newer trends in the marketplace
3. Predicting the future of an industry
4. Expanding your brand presence
5. Getting inbound traffic at the top of your funnel
6. Generating leads for your business

Ultimately, they result in increased traffic to their websites which helps in more sales/revenues.