Year on year vs quarter on quarter: how to compare quarterly results

Every set of results comes with growth rates. The two most common are year on year (YoY) and quarter on quarter (QoQ). They sound alike and answer different questions, so it matters which one you are looking at.

The two comparisons

• Year on year: this quarter against the same quarter of the previous year. Q1 FY27 (April to June 2026) is compared with Q1 FY26 (April to June 2025).
• Quarter on quarter: this quarter against the quarter immediately before it. Q1 FY27 is compared with Q4 FY26 (January to March 2026).

How to calculate

Percentage change = (current − previous) ÷ previous × 100.

An illustrative example with a fictional company, Example Ltd (₹ crore):

	Q1 FY27	Q1 FY26	Q4 FY26	YoY	QoQ
Revenue	1,000	800	1,100	+25.0%	−9.1%
Profit after tax	150	100	180	+50.0%	−16.7%

Revenue: (1,000 − 800) ÷ 800 = +25.0% year on year, and (1,000 − 1,100) ÷ 1,100 = −9.1% quarter on quarter. Both numbers are correct. They describe different things: Example Ltd’s revenue is higher than a year ago and lower than in the previous quarter. Neither number alone is the whole picture.

Why YoY is the usual headline

Many businesses are seasonal. Festival months, harvests, monsoons, budget cycles and year-end spending all push sales up or down in particular quarters. Comparing a quarter with the same quarter a year ago removes that pattern, because both quarters have the same seasons. That is why results are normally headlined with year-on-year change.

When QoQ helps

Quarter on quarter shows momentum: whether the business is speeding up or slowing down from the most recent position. It is more useful for businesses without a strong seasonal pattern, and for spotting a recent change. For a seasonal business a QoQ fall may be entirely normal.

Where both mislead

• The base effect. If last year’s figure was very small, even a small rise gives a large percentage. Profit going from 10 to 15 is +50%, but only 5 crore in absolute terms.
• Losses. When the earlier figure is negative or zero, a percentage change is not meaningful. Going from a loss of 20 to a profit of 10 is a swing of 30 crore, not a percentage. Most companies and articles show “n/a” in this case.
• Restated figures. Companies sometimes restate earlier periods. The comparison should use the restated numbers, and a note usually says so.
• A different basis. Comparing standalone with consolidated, or a period with an acquisition against one without, is not like for like.

Changes in margins: percentage points and basis points

A margin is already a percentage, so its change is measured in percentage points, not percent. In the example, PAT margin is 150 ÷ 1,000 = 15.0% this quarter and 100 ÷ 800 = 12.5% a year ago, a rise of 2.5 percentage points. Finance people say that as 250 basis points (bps), where 100 bps equal one percentage point.

Nine months and full year

Companies also report cumulative figures: the first half (H1), the first nine months (9M) and the full year. Cumulative figures are compared with the same cumulative period of the previous year. The last quarter of the year is published together with the audited annual results, and it is often the balancing figure between the full year and the nine months already reported.

Related: how to read a quarterly result and the complete guide.