Year-over-Year (YoY)

A comparison method that evaluates a financial metric against the same period in the previous year, stripping out seasonal effects that can distort month-over-month analysis. Earnings reports almost always present revenue and profit growth on a YoY basis -- a company reporting Q3 results compares them to the prior year's Q3, not to Q2. Traders pay close attention to YoY trends in inflation data, retail sales, and employment figures because these comparisons drive Federal Reserve policy expectations.