What is revenue growth? Formula, ranges and example
What is revenue growth?
Revenue growth measures how much revenue increased or decreased from the comparable period a year earlier. Divide current-period revenue by prior-year comparable revenue, subtract 1 and multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.
Formula
Revenue growth (%) = (current-period revenue ÷ prior-year comparable revenue − 1) × 100
- The canonical revenue key is net_sales. Prefer the prior-year comparative in the current filing; use a comparable prior filing only when that comparative is absent.
- A zero or negative prior base, missing inputs, or incompatible period lengths, accounting standards, consolidation scopes or currencies make growth unavailable, not zero.
- The API returns revenue_growth as a fraction: 0.1 = 10%. Compare periods of the same length, not a full year against an interim year-to-date figure.
Ranges and interpretation
| Range | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| <0% | Revenue declined from a positive prior-year base; this does not mean the company made a loss. |
| 0% | Revenue is unchanged from the prior-year period; profit and sales volumes need not be unchanged. |
| >0% | Revenue increased; this does not guarantee profit growth or sustainable expansion. |
Worked example from a filing
Year ended March 31, 2026 (–)
IFRS · Consolidated · JPY
| Input | JPY million |
|---|---|
| Current revenue (year ended March 2026) | 50,684,952 |
| Prior revenue (year ended March 2025, current-filing comparative) | 48,036,704 |
(50,684,952 ÷ 48,036,704 − 1) × 100 = 5.5%
Toyota’s revenue for the year ended March 31, 2026 increased by about 5.5% against the March 2025 comparative in the same filing. The current period is April 1, 2025–March 31, 2026 and the prior period is April 1, 2024–March 31, 2025; both are consolidated IFRS annual figures in JPY.
Source elements
- Current revenue (year ended March 2026)
- filer:TotalNetRevenuesIFRS
- CurrentYearDuration
- Prior revenue (year ended March 2025, current-filing comparative)
- filer:TotalNetRevenuesIFRS
- Prior1YearDuration
What to watch
- Acquisitions, disposals, exchange rates and price changes can move revenue; the rate is not a measure of volume or organic growth alone.
- A small prior base can produce a large growth rate. Check revenue amounts and the trend over several years.
- A restated comparative can make growth differ from the change between each year’s originally reported figures.
- The national ranking uses latest annual figures with a 100% revenue-growth cap to filter outliers, not a growth target.