ROI de Investimento

ROI: Return on Investment

ROI measures the percentage return of an investment as ROI = (gain − cost) / cost · 100%. Put R$ 10,000 in, get R$ 12,000 back, and you've earned a 20% ROI. The catch is that ROI is time-agnostic. It can't tell the difference between earning 50% in one month and earning 50% over ten years. When timing matters, reach for CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) or IRR (Internal Rate of Return) instead. A few variants show up often. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is the marketing one, revenue divided by ad cost. ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) measures operating return over equity plus debt. ROE (Return on Equity) is net income over shareholders' equity. Plain ROI ignores the horizon, which is its big weakness, but that same plainness is why it shows up everywhere.

Applications and context

People use it to appraise projects, to track marketing campaigns (ROAS in Google Ads and Meta Ads), to size up M&A deals, to weigh real estate where rental yield meets appreciation, and to compare alternatives at a glance. It's a solid screening tool. Just bring in the payback period and CAGR alongside it whenever the horizon actually matters.

FAQ

Can ROI be negative? It can. When the gain comes in below the cost, ROI turns negative and you've taken a loss. An ROI of −20% means you got back only 80% of what you put in.

ROI vs ROAS — what's the difference? ROAS divides revenue by ad spend, while ROI subtracts cost first and works from profit. So a 4× ROAS can still hide a negative ROI when your margins are thin.

How do I compare projects with different durations? Annualize the ROI into a CAGR before you line them up. A 50% ROI spread across 5 years works out to only ~8.4% per year.