Summary
Year-to-Date Return, or YTD Return, measures the percentage change in a share’s price since the beginning of the current calendar year.
It provides a standardized way to compare performance across shares over the same period.
Why it matters
YTD Return helps investors understand how a share has performed during the current year. It is often used to compare companies, sectors, and market benchmarks.
This metric can be helpful when reviewing annual performance trends or identifying the year’s strongest and weakest performers.
How to Calculate
YTD Return (%) = [(Current Price − Price at Start of Year) ÷ Price at Start of Year] × 100
How to read it
A positive YTD Return means the share price has increased since the start of the year. A negative YTD Return means it has decreased.
YTD Return should be reviewed alongside longer-term performance to understand whether the current year is consistent with or different from the company’s historical trend.