Year over year (YOY), or year on year, is a common comparison for financial data. It compares a business metric in terms of the latest year against the preceding year. YOY works as a neat method for gauging ongoing performance for various business functions. Investors often use it to grasp whether a business is growing quickly.
How to calculate YOY data
If 2022 saw revenue of $100,000 and 2023 saw revenue of $125,000, it’s simply a case of working out the percentage difference.
- Subtract 2022’s figure from 2023’s
- Divide the result by 2022’s figure
- Multiply by 100
- Tada, that’s your difference as a percentage and your YOY growth
How to use YOY comparisons
Using YOY data, comparisons are often made for specific periods within a year, e.g., “2nd quarter revenue increased 4% YOY”. This can offer deeper and more realistic insight, especially for seasonal businesses.
How is it different to ‘year to date’ (YTD)
YOY looks at performance over an entire year (or a similar section), and YTD looks at performance from the beginning of the calendar or fiscal year.