yield

To give up, relinquish, or surrender. Current return from an investment or expenditure as a percentage of price of investment or expenditure. The stock dividends or bond interest paid expressed as a percentage of the current price. As to bonds or stock, is coupon or dividend rate divided by purchase price.

See also net yield

- rate (rate of return).

In old English law, to perform a service due by a tenant to his lord. Hence the usual form of reservation of a rent in a lease began with the words "yielding and paying."

@ current yield

On bonds, the annual interest paid divided by the current market price of the bond. As interest rates fall, the market price of the bond rises; as they rise, bond prices fall. The actual rate of return on a bond. For example, a 10% bond with a face value of $500 purchased for $450 earns $50 of interest in the first year. The current yield on the bond is 11.11% while the coupon rate on the bond remains at 10%.

@ nominal yield

The annual income received from a fixed-income security divided by the par or face value of the security. It is stated as a percentage figure

@ yield spread

Yield differences between various issues of securities

@ yield to maturity

On bonds, a complex calculation that reflects the overall rate of return an investor would receive from a bond if the bond is held to maturity and the interest payments reinvested at the same rate. It takes into account purchase price, coupon yield, time to maturity and the time between interest payments

@