Enter a starting value, an ending value and the number of years between them. CAGR is the steady yearly rate that would turn the first into the second.
CAGR
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CAGR = (End ÷ Start)1 ÷ years − 1
CAGR smooths out the ups and downs: an investment that rose 50% one year and fell 20% the next has a CAGR of about 9.5%, not the 15% simple average. That makes it the fair way to compare growth over different periods.
It depends on what you measure. Broad stock markets have historically returned around 6–10% a year over long periods; for company revenue, anything well above inflation is healthy.
No. The simple average of yearly returns overstates growth when returns vary. CAGR is the geometric average — the rate that really links start and end.