what is the difference between the cagr and a growth rate 
the main difference between the cagr and a growth rate is that the cagr assumes the growth rate was repeated or compounded each year whereas a traditional growth rate does not many investors prefer the cagr because it smooths out the volatile nature of year by year growth rates for instance even a highly profitable and successful company will likely have several years of poor performance during its life these bad years could have a large effect on individual years growth rates but would have a relatively small impact on the company s cagr can the cagr be negative yes a negative cagr would indicate losses over time rather than gains 