Year-over-Year (YoY)

Year-over-Year, often abbreviated as YoY, is like taking a snapshot comparison of how a business performed this year versus the same time last year. It’s like looking at photos of yourself from this year’s birthday party and last year’s to see how much taller you’ve gotten. In business, instead of height, you’re comparing numbers. Think sales, revenue, customer counts—pretty much any important number that shows how a business is doing.

YoY analysis helps to cut through the noise of data that can change a lot from month to month. By comparing the same time period across different years, like June this year versus June last year, a business can see if they’re actually improving or if something might be going wrong. Maybe a store sold more in June this year because they had a massive sale, or maybe they had less visitors because a new shop opened up nearby last July.

This kind of comparison can reveal trends, like whether a company is growing steadily or facing seasonal ups and downs. Think of YoY as a reality check for businesses—it helps them figure out if they’re really headed in the right direction by clearing up the short-term fluctuations and focusing on the bigger picture.