Year-to-date, or YTD (for calendar year)

Year-to-date, or YTD, refers to the time from the beginning of the current calendar year up to the current date, usually from 1 January up to today. YTD provides a snapshot of progress so far in the year. It’s useful for looking at business trends, comparing how stocks are tracking against other stocks or their own stocks performance one year ago - that is have they gone up or down - and calculating things like returns and a company’s market cap.

Year-over-year, or YOY, compares performance of a stock, ETF or REIT today with the previous year, that is, 12 months ago. Analysts and companies commonly use YOY comparisons to look at growth or declines, trends, and to understand whether a company’s or ETF’s strategy or decisions have been successful. Understanding year-over-year changes is valuable for investors who want to understand performance and progress of an investment over time.