This company has been experiencing significant growth, and on September 30 it is approached by a potential purchaser. The company owner will want to calculate the LTM financial results to assist in the valuation, so a full year of results is included. Given the way the data is structured in the spreadsheet, I can grab the fill handle and drag the formula down to get TTM revenue for previous months. However, as I only have data going back to January 2021, it doesn’t make sense to calculate it further than December 2021 since I won’t have twelve months for the calculation. As mentioned, TTM is simply the sum of all revenue generated during the last twelve months. For example, if you’re calculating it on December 2nd, 2022, you would include all revenue generated since December 2nd, 2021.

• The company owner will want to calculate the LTM financial results to assist in the valuation, so a full year of results is included.
• The LTM financial results are often used to perform valuations on companies.
• The report also revealed that Apple earned over 60% more in profit in the last twelve months ended 25 September 2021 compared to 2020, indicating the company’s strong financial health in that year.
• Another instance where the last twelve months’ figures are useful is when a company is being considered for acquisition.

And it’s common to look at Enterprise Value relative to the Last Twelve Months of EBITDA. We’d then look for the latest Year-To-Date Financial data in Coinbase’s most recent 10Q filing. With this calculation, we can quickly compute the latest Twelve Months of data at any point in the year.

Divestopedia Explains Last Twelve Months (LTM)

During the initial stages, it’s normal to want to keep a very close eye on revenue. Financial metrics commonly considered by looking at last twelve month figures include a company’s price-earnings (P/E) ratio and earnings per share (EPS). This means the specific formula will vary depending on how frequent your revenue figures are.

Then, he inputs the non-cash charges and the $3.50 million, which represent the settlement with the acquiring company, to find that the adjusted EBITDA, or else the last 12-months EBITDA is $18.14 million. To learn more about other revenue-related metrics, check out the articles below. In this article, you will learn about TTM or LTM revenue, as well as why it’s important. You will also learn how to calculate TTM and have step-by-step examples of how to calculate TTM using Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. EV/LTM Revenue is a commonly used Valuation Multiple that looks at the Purchase Price (‘Enterprise Value’ or ‘EV’) of the entire Business relative to the last twelve months (‘LTM’) of Revenue generated by the Business. As we’ll see in the next section, an LTM calculation allows us to see the previous 12 months of performance at any point in the year.

What is the Definition of Last Twelve Months (LTM)?

For example, a UK-based company selling woollen sweaters will see higher sales during winter while its sales will drop during summers. An investor looking only at the company’s quarterly report for three months ended September may misinterpret the low sales made during summer months. Investors looking at last twelve month financial statements will get a clearer picture of the company’s performance. In that case, it can suggest that the most recent quarters after the last annual earnings release have outperformed previous quarters. It may indicate the company is poised for revenue growth in the current financial year. Although a 12-month period may seem like a short period to analyze a company’s financial health, it is a metric that illuminates the company’s most recent financial performance.

Analysts create LTM calculations because the regularly reported Financial data only reflects the prior twelve months of data once per year (right after the Annual Report). If the company is publicly traded, the latest annual filing data can be found in its 10-K filings, whereas the most recent YTD and corresponding YTD financial metrics to deduct can be found in the 10-Q filings. To have a P/E which reflects the current fundamentals of the stock, it is essential to use net profit derived by using LTM Revenue.

Investment Banking Use Case: EV / LTM EBITDA

While “Trailing Twelve Months” refers to a period starting as of today and moving back in time for twelve months, “Last Twelve Months” refers to a period starting at a given point in time and moving back twelve months. It is a historical valuation measure and is frequently used in Mergers, takeovers, ltm revenue meaning and amalgamation purposes, to name a few. For the YTD period between Q and Q2 2015, LTM net profit is $12.07 million. After adding the income tax provision, the interest expenses, and the depreciation & amortization expenses, Michael finds that the 12-month EBITDA is $20.76 million.

• A balance sheet is never affected by this calculation, as a balance sheet is prepared on a certain date and at a single point of time, regardless of the events throughout the year.
• For instance, financial statements are commonly prepared quarterly or annually, including the total revenue for the period.
• However, the main difference between them is the starting point and the end point.

However, most companies report 12 months of data once per Year and Quarterly data three times per year. The main issue with TTM is that the true impact of seasonality is not accounted for. Retail companies tend to see a high sales volume during the festive and new year periods. Famous fund managers like Peter Lynch of Fidelity often advocate for attractive P/Es as the basis for valuation.

This is calculated by dividing the current price by the EPS (Net Income divided by the number of shares outstanding). If a company is being acquired, a multiple may be applied to the TTM EBITDA to find the Enterprise Value. As a result, the investment bank can provide a credible figure to all the parties in the deal. For example, suppose a Ski Resort in Switzerland reports revenues in June. In that case, the winter months from October to March will hold more weight in the earnings, thus potentially driving up revenue numbers.

LTM Reflects the Past and NTM Reflects The Future

LTM is shorthand for “last twelve months” and refers to the timeframe comprised of the financial performance of the most recent twelve-month period. Income statements are generally reported annually, but in a 10Q, they’re reported quarterly. TTM can be helpful in these quarterly reports because it doesn’t align with the beginning of the last period. Instead, the 12-month period could correlate with any four quarterly periods.

While investors can gain information about a company using TTM, 12 months is still short. Investors can’t get the complete picture of a company when only looking at 12 months of data. That’s why the metric sometimes gives investors an inaccurate perception of the firm’s financial results.

Because of fluctuations like this within each year, we typically want to see a full year of Financial data. As you can see above, the fourth quarter (i.e. the Christmas Holidays) generates a significant portion of annual Revenue. When analyzing a company, you’ll want to see the Company’s most up-to-date performance. Learn to calculate LTM Revenue and EBITDA (or TTM Revenue and TTM EBITDA) like a pro so you can use it on the job in Investment Banking, Private Equity, and Investment Management. The process of adding the period beyond the fiscal year ending date (and subtracting the matching period) is called the “stub period” adjustment. Take your learning and productivity to the next level with our Premium Templates.

The TTM or TTL technique applies to more than just revenue and is frequently calculated for other financial metrics, like yield or the Price/Earnings ratio. These would also be calculated based on the last or trailing twelve months of data. TTM revenue only shows the most recent 12 months of financial data (in specific revenues). To make a well-educated assumption or analysis about a company, you will need data beyond this 12-month period. Last twelve months (LTM) is the time period of preceding 12 months, also referred to as trading twelve months (TTM). LTM is widely used when referring to a company’s earnings and financial metrics such as revenue, profit or earnings per share (EPS) over the past year.

As a result, the Last Twelve Months has a defined starting point in the past and a an ending point ending twelve months prior to it. Both TTM and LTM cover a “twelve-month” reference period and both make reference to the past. It is one such relative valuation matrix and cannot be used as the only matrix in valuing business due to its inherent shortcomings.

Potential Drawbacks of Using LTM

As a result, the LTM figure neglects the back-weighted revenue of companies without any normalization adjustments, which makes the metric prone to misinterpretations. LTM Revenue is often a metric used to display a company’s financial health over the past year. On the other hand, stock traders will want to look at a stock’s TTM to get a sense of the stock’s performance within the past twelve months so the numbers can be averaged out for seasonal or cyclical variations.

For this example, I will use the data for Company Y. I have two years of monthly revenue figures to work with, so I can calculate TTM revenue at different points. Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling. Also, since TTM isn’t provided to you on the company’s SEC filings, you will need to calculate it yourself. This requires a lot of backtracking to hunt down the figures for the last three quarters.

The “Trailing Twelve Months” is a figure covering a twelve-month period starting from today and moving back twelve months in time. However, to calculate the “trailing twelve months”, we’ll need to start as of today (Q1 Year 2) and calculate the twelve months preceding that (Q2 Year 1 to Q1 Year 2). The LTM financial results are often used to perform valuations on companies. The LTM calculation is particularly important for companies that have experienced a strong last 12 months.

EV/LTM EBITDA is a commonly used Valuation Multiple that looks at the Purchase Price (‘Enterprise Value’ or ‘EV’) of the entire Business relative to the last twelve months (‘LTM’) of EBITDA generated by the Business. LTM stands for ‘Last Twelve Months,’ and it refers to calculations that show the most recent Twelve Months of Financial performance (e.g. LTM Revenue and LTM EBITDA). Kevin Henderson is a member of WSO Editorial Board which helps ensure the accuracy of content across top articles on Wall Street Oasis. Kevin is currently the Head of Execution and a Vice President at Ion Pacific This content was originally created by member WallStreetOasis.com and has evolved with the help of our mentors.