The median of all year-over-year growth rates in a series. Less distorted than an average by unusually high or low years; years whose previous value is 0 are skipped.
Formula: Median of [YoY growth rates] — sorts all (v[i] − v[i-1]) / |v[i-1]| values and returns the middle value
How to read it: > 15% = strong typical growth · 5–15% = steady compounder · < 5% = slow growth. Compare against CAGR: if median << CAGR, growth is driven by outlier years.
Preferred by sell-side analysts as a sanity-check alongside CAGR. A company with lumpy, one-off revenue spikes will show a high CAGR but a modest median growth — the median reveals the typical annual pace more honestly.