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The Daily Insight

What is expected return in corporate finance?

Author

Andrew Mclaughlin

Published Feb 19, 2026

The expected return is a measure that is used to determine whether the average net result of an investment is positive or negative. The sum is calculated as an investment’s expected value (EV) due to its potential returns as seen in different scenarios.

How do you understand expected return?

The expected return is the amount of profit or loss an investor can anticipate receiving on an investment. An expected return is calculated by multiplying potential outcomes by the odds of them occurring and then totaling these results.

What is the purpose of an expected return?

Expected return is simply a measure of probabilities intended to show the likelihood that a given investment will generate a positive return, and what the likely return will be. The purpose of calculating the expected return on an investment is to provide an investor with an idea of probable profit vs risk.

How do you calculate the expected value?

The expected value (EV) is an anticipated value for an investment at some point in the future. In statistics and probability analysis, the expected value is calculated by multiplying each of the possible outcomes by the likelihood each outcome will occur and then summing all of those values.

How do economists define expected return and risk?

How do economists define expected return and risk? Expected return is the return expected on an asset during a future​ period, while risk is the degree of uncertainty in the return on an asset.

What is expected return and how is it calculated?

The expected return of a portfolio is calculated by multiplying the weight of each asset by its expected return and adding the values for each investment. For example, a portfolio has three investments with weights of 35% in asset A, 25% in asset B, and 40% in asset C.

Is expected value equal to mean?

Mean or “Average” and “Expected Value” only differ by their applications, however they both are same conceptually. Expected Value is used in case of Random Variables (or in other words Probability Distributions). Since, the average is defined as the sum of all the elements divided by the sum of their frequencies.

How do economists define expected return and risk quizlet?