Year-over-year (YOY) is a frequently used financial analysis technique that compares figures from one reporting period to the same period in the previous year. The purpose of YOY analysis is to measure growth over time and identify trends in financial data.
Understanding YOY and how to calculate it is important for financial analysts, investors, and anyone who wants to evaluate business performance.
What Does Year-Over-Year (YOY) Mean?
Year-over-year compares figures from one 12-month period to the same 12-month period in the prior year. For example, YOY sales growth would compare sales from January to December 2024 to sales from January to December 2023. YOY makes it easy to see increases or decreases over the same time frame.
The term YOY is often used interchangeably with “year on year” and the abbreviation CAGR, which stands for compound annual growth rate. All compare one full year time span to the prior year.
Key Things to Know About YOY:
- It provides a simple way to evaluate growth over time by controlling for seasonality. Sales or profits often fluctuate at different times of the year, so YOY makes for an apples-to-apples comparison.
- YOY looks at growth as a percentage change. If sales were $1 million in 2022 and $1.1 million in 2023, the YOY sales growth would be 10%.
- YOY works for both increasing and decreasing figures. If profits fell from $500,000 in 2022 to $400,000 in 2023, YOY profit change would show a 20% decrease.
- YOY analysis can be applied to any business metric – revenue, expenses, customer numbers, web traffic, etc. It’s commonly used in financial reports.
- YOY is best for measuring growth trends over time. Comparing only two years doesn’t show the full picture of growth.
How to Calculate Year-Over-Year (YOY)
The formula for year-over-year growth is simple:
YOY Growth % = (Current Year – Previous Year) / Previous Year
For example:
2022 Revenue: $500,000
2023 Revenue: $600,000
YOY Growth % = ($600,000 – $500,000) / $500,000
= 0.2
= 20%
So the YOY revenue growth from 2022 to 2023 was 20% in this example.
Uses of Year-Over-Year (YOY) Analysis
Year-over-year comparisons have many important uses in finance and accounting. Here are some of the most common:
- Evaluate business growth – YOY makes it easy to see how much a company’s revenue, net income, customers, etc. have grown on a historical basis. Growth is a key indicator of business health.
- Identify trends – Multiple years of YOY data reveals patterns more clearly than month-to-month comparisons. It can reveal upward or downward momentum.
- Set targets – Companies often use prior year YOY performance to establish growth targets and budgets for the current year.
- Compare to competitors – Investors and analysts frequently calculate YOY growth for major competitors in an industry to compare their relative performance.
- Adjust for inflation – Comparing nominal YOY growth to real YOY growth adjusted for inflation shows the true growth rate excluding price changes.
- Forecast future performance – Historical YOY trends can be used to predict likely growth rates and set forecasts, with adjustments as needed for new factors.
- Spot issues – A negative YOY comparison can quickly highlight problem areas like declining sales, stagnant customer growth, higher costs, etc.
Limitations of Using Year-Over-Year (YOY) Metrics
While YOY analysis is useful, it also has some limitations to be aware of:
- Only two data points – Comparing just two years does not show the big picture. Longer-term compound growth rates are better for understanding trends.
- Impacted by outliers or one-time events – Unusual spikes or dips in the prior year distort the YOY comparison. Adjusting for anomalies provides more perspective.
- No basis for comparison – Without context, it’s hard to interpret the significance of a 20% YOY increase, for example. Comparison to competitors or industry benchmarks helps give meaning.
- Not future-looking – YOY analysis is backward-facing. It can’t predict or model future outcomes based on past performance alone.
- Susceptible to manipulation – Companies can take steps to artificially inflate YOY growth numbers, for example by shifting revenue between years.
To overcome these limitations, YOY growth metrics are often used in combination with other key performance indicators. But for straightforward measurement of increases or decreases over time, YOY remains a simple and useful tool.
Year-Over-Year (YOY) Examples
Here are some examples that demonstrate how YOY is applied in various financial contexts:
Company Revenue Growth
- FY 2022 revenue = $1.5 million
- FY 2023 revenue = $1.8 million
- YOY change = ($1.8M – $1.5M) / $1.5M = 20% revenue growth
Product Sales Growth
- Q1 2022 Product A sales = 150,000 units
- Q1 2023 Product A sales = 180,000 units
- YOY change = (180,000 – 150,000) / 150,000 = 20% sales growth
Inflation-Adjusted Growth
- 2022 GDP = $20 trillion
- 2023 GDP = $21 trillion
- Inflation rate in 2022 = 2%
- Real 2022 GDP = $21T / 1.02 = $20.59T
- Real YOY GDP growth = ($20.59T – $20T) / $20T = 2.95%
Competitor Benchmarking
- Company X 2021 sales = $10 million, 20% YOY growth
- Company Y 2021 sales = $12 million, 5% YOY growth
- Company Z 2021 sales = $8 million, -3% YOY growth
- Company X outpaced rivals with strongest YOY sales growth
YOY analysis is a fundamental tool used across accounting, finance, and business analytics. Mastering year-over-year comparisons enables better insights into trends, growth rates, and performance.
Despite some limitations, YOY remains a simple and effective starting point for assessing progress over time. When used properly and in combination with other metrics, it can improve financial modeling, forecasting, and data-driven decision making.