Two revenue figures, a few years in between: your real average growth rate, projected one year ahead.
Revenue fluctuates from year to year. The CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) smooths those fluctuations into one steady figure: the growth rate that mathematically took you from your starting value to where you are today.
You need it more often than you'd think: every budgeting method starts with the question of what you'll make next year anyway, and CAGR is the standard way to project it.
CAGR = (end value ÷ start value)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
Example: from $460,000 to $500,000 in five years is roughly 1.7% per year. The calculator handles the formula and projects one year ahead for you.
The simple average of yearly growth rates ignores compounding and overestimates growth when years fluctuate. CAGR is the geometrically correct rate: it's exactly the rate that takes you from start to end.
Yes, it just comes out negative. That's important budget information too: it shows where you'll land without countermeasures.