Return On Investment (ROI)

Formal

A general term used in investment appraisal to describe a family of measures for comparing the original cost of an investment against the benefits, and the timing of these benefits, resulting from it. Eg Payback, ROI, NPV and Discounted Cash Flow Analysis.

Real-world Example

A $50,000 marketing campaign generates $150,000 in additional profit. The ROI is 200% - for every dollar spent, the campaign returned two dollars in profit.