What Is Trailing 12 Months (TTM)?

By Anders Bylund – Updated Oct 10, 2025 at 3:28 PM

Key Points

TTM reflects a company's financial activities over the past 12 months, using four quarterly reports.
Positive TTM figures indicate profit, while negative values show a loss over the year.
Investors can use TTM to compare companies, revealing long-term performance trends.

Trailing 12 months (TTM) is a common term referring to a way to measure the performance of a company over time. It is also used to calculate financial ratios, such as the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio and return on equity (ROE).

But what does TTM actually mean? And how can you use it to make better financial decisions?

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A hiker walking on a forest trail. — Image Source: The Motley Fool

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Operating Expenses

Costs incurred in running a business's daily activities, like rent, utilities, and salaries, excluding costs directly tied to production.

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Trailing 12 month visual example of Target's revenue. — Source: The Motley Fool YCharts.

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Data source: Quarterly filings. Revenues measured in billions of dollars.
Company	Q2 2021	Q3 2021	Q4 2021	Q1 2022	Q2 2022	Q3 2022
Target	$100.3	$103.4	$106.1	$107.1	$107.9	$108.7
Altria	$26.4	$26.1	$26.0	$25.9	$25.5	$25.2

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About the Author

Anders Bylund is a contributing Motley Fool media and technology analyst covering semiconductors, cloud computing, internet infrastructure, quantum computing, and streaming media. Previously, Anders was a systems administrator for Nielsen Technology and CSX, gaining hands-on experience with enterprise-class systems. He was also a freelance writer for Ars Technica, TIME, USA Today, CNN, WIRED, and AOL's Daily Finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from Florida State University. He believes in coyotes and time as an abstract.

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Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Target. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.