when used as part of a qoq analysis a business would compare financials from q2 april may june to q1 january february march this comparison varies from yoy where the same quarter is compared from one year to the next for example q1 of 2024 is compared to q1 of 2023 in a yoy review 
comparing quarters on a year over year yoy basis can be more effective than on a quarter on quarter qoq basis as it gives a broader picture of company health and is not impacted by seasonal issues challenges with qoq analysisthere are circumstances where qoq analysis may not provide a holistic view of the health of an organization for example if an industry experiences seasonal sales variance such as landscapers or seasonal sellers what may appear to be a downward trend may be an industry norm the same can apply if a business experiences higher earnings during a peak season that may reflect abnormally high growth from one quarter to the next an organization may choose to adjust the figures seasonally and compensate for regular shifts in business giving a more accurate picture throughout the year since yoy analysis involves the examination of the same quarter from one year to the next it does not typically require a seasonal adjustment to provide valuable data real world examplea company s earnings report from one quarter to the next can affect the market a disappointing earnings report can cause the stock to plunge as investors try to sell off the stock before the price drops in 2018 amazon s third quarter earnings exceeded analysts estimates but amazon s guidance for the fourth quarter fell short of expectations and the company s stock price plunged in response to the announcement the last quarter of the year includes the holidays and is typically amazon s busiest season fourth quarter revenue guidance was significantly below the consensus and caused concern among shareholders amazon stock plunged by 10 although it eventually recovered as investors priced in the news 