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The total return anticipated on a bond if it is held until it matures, accounting for all coupon payments, the purchase price, and the face value received at maturity.
YTM is the most comprehensive measure of a bond's expected return. If you buy a 10-year bond with a 5% coupon at a discount (say $950 for a $1,000 face value bond), your YTM will be higher than 5% because you also earn the $50 capital gain at maturity. Conversely, buying at a premium results in a YTM below the coupon rate. YTM assumes all coupon payments are reinvested at the same rate, which is rarely the case in practice. Despite this limitation, YTM is the standard metric for comparing bonds with different coupons, prices, and maturities on an apples-to-apples basis.