What is the Difference Between Yield and Return?
🆚 Go to Comparative Table 🆚The main difference between yield and return lies in their definition and the way they measure an investment's financial performance over time. Here are the key differences:
- Yield: Yield refers to the income returned on an investment, such as interest or dividends, and is typically expressed as a percentage. It is a forward-looking metric, indicating the potential future performance of an investment based on its current conditions.
- Return: Return is the difference in the dollar value of an investment over time, reflecting both capital gains and losses, as well as interest or dividends. It is a backward-looking metric, showing the actual performance of an investment from the time it was initially purchased.
In summary:
- Yield is the income earned from an investment over a period, usually expressed as a percentage, and is forward-looking.
- Return represents the total gain or loss on an investment over time, including capital gains, losses, and income (dividends or interest), and is expressed as a dollar value. It is backward-looking.
While both yield and return measure an investment's financial performance, they do so using different metrics. Yield is focused on the income generated by an investment, while return takes into account both income and changes in the investment's value. The rate of return can be used to measure a variety of financial instruments, whereas yield refers to a narrower group of investments, specifically those that produce interest or dividends.
Comparative Table: Yield vs Return
Here is a table comparing the differences between Yield and Return in Python:
| Basis of Comparison | Yield | Return |
|---|---|---|
| About | The yield function is used to convert a regular Python function into a generator. | The return is used for signifying the end of the execution where it “returns” the result to the caller. |
| Function | It replaces the return of a function to pause its execution of the function without losing any state. | It exits a function and returns a value to its caller. |
| Uses | When the generator gives an intermediate result to the caller, the yield statement is used. | The return statement is implemented whenever we want to end the execution of the function. |
| Execution | The code written after the yield statement is executed in the following function call. | While code written after the return statement will not be executed. |
| Compilation | It has the ability to run many times. | It only runs once at a time. |
In summary, the yield statement is used for creating generators and can return multiple values to the caller without terminating the program, whereas the return statement stops the execution of the function and returns a single value to the caller.
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