Trailing 12 Months

Trailing 12 Months (TTM): Definition, Calculation, and Uses

What is TTM?

Trailing 12 months (TTM), also called last 12 months (LTM), refers to a company’s financial performance over the most recent 12 consecutive months. TTM provides a more current and seasonally adjusted view of metrics—such as revenue, earnings, EPS, dividend yield, and P/E ratio—than annual reports or fiscal-year snapshots.

Key takeaways

• TTM covers the most recent 12 consecutive months, not necessarily a fiscal year.
• It smooths seasonality and offers a timely view of performance.
• TTM is useful for comparing companies, provided comparisons are made within the same industry.
• Calculations vary by metric: some use sums of the last four quarters, others use averages or weighted averages.

Why analysts and investors use TTM

TTM is commonly used in fundamental analysis because it reflects recent performance and reduces distortions from seasonality or a single reporting period. Investors use TTM figures to:
* Track growth trends (e.g., revenue growth over the past year).
* Calculate valuation ratios based on actual recent results (e.g., trailing P/E).
* Compare companies on a consistent, rolling basis regardless of fiscal year-ends.

Where TTM measures come from

TTM figures are typically derived from company financial statements:
* Income statement items (revenues, net income, EPS): often summed across the last four quarters.
* Balance sheet-based measures (average working capital): may use averages of quarter-end balances.
* Cash-flow items: follow the treatment appropriate to their originating statement (e.g., depreciation from the income statement, capex from cash-flow statement).
Analysts may adjust methods (e.g., averaging two quarter-ends) depending on the metric and reporting practices.

TTM revenue

TTM revenue is the sum of a company’s revenue for the last four reported quarters:

TTM Revenue = Qcurrent + Q-1 + Q-2 + Q-3

Example:
If a company’s four recent quarterly revenues are $29.4B, $33.5B, $30.0B, and $21.9B, then:
TTM Revenue = $29.4B + $33.5B + $30.0B + $21.9B = $114.8B

(Adjust rounding or quarter ordering as appropriate for your data.)

TTM yield

TTM yield measures income returned over the past 12 months:
* For funds (mutual funds, ETFs): the weighted average income yield of the holdings over the prior 12 months.
* For stocks: the dividend yield based on dividends paid in the last four quarters divided by current share price.

Example (stock dividend yield):
If a $100 stock paid $0.10 each quarter for four quarters, TTM yield = (0.10 + 0.10 + 0.10 + 0.10) ÷ $100 = 0.4%.

Trailing P/E (TTM P/E)

Trailing P/E uses actual earnings from the prior 12 months:

Trailing P/E = Current Share Price ÷ TTM EPS

This contrasts with forward P/E, which uses projected future earnings. Trailing P/E reflects realized past performance and is useful when comparing historical profitability to current price.

How to calculate TTM (general guidance)

Approach depends on the metric:
* Sum method: Add the last four quarters (common for revenue, net income).
* Average/weighted average: Use when a metric is best represented by an average over time (e.g., working capital).
Always ensure consistency across the companies being compared and verify whether adjustments (seasonal, one-time items) are needed.

TTM profit & loss

A TTM P&L aggregates monthly or quarterly returns over the past 12 months to report an up-to-date profit or loss figure. It provides a rolling view of performance for investments, projects, or business segments.

Conclusion

TTM is a practical, rolling measure that gives a timely and seasonally balanced picture of a company’s recent performance. By using TTM figures—appropriately calculated for each metric—investors and analysts can track trends and make more relevant comparisons among peer companies.