What Is Yield to Worst in Bonds?

What Is Yield to Worst?

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated Aug 17, 2025 at 8:23 PM EST

Key Points

Bonds are debt securities that generate interest, but may be paid back early.
Yield to worst calculates the minimum return if a bond is called before maturity.
Callable bonds risk early repayment, affecting future interest earnings.

Investing in bonds can be a great way to earn extra money with a more secure investment than the stock market often provides, but it’s not without risk. Understanding concepts like yield to worst can help you make the best decisions when buying bonds.

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Interest Rate

An interest rate is the cost of borrowing money or the premium you get for lending money. Learn how interest rates affect the economy.

However, bonds can also be called in during extraordinary circumstances that might pause, change, or end a bond-funded project. There are other reasons bonds are called in, as well. Sometimes, the bonds were always meant to be paid down in steps, rather than on a single maturity date.

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

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