ROI

Return On Investment measures profit relative to spend, most often calculated as (revenue minus cost) divided by cost, expressed as a percentage. An ROI of 50% means every dollar in returned a dollar fifty; 0% is breakeven; negative ROI means the campaign is burning money. It is the single number that says whether the whole operation works.

ROI is the buyer's scoreboard, but the calculation only means something if the cost side is complete — ad spend plus accounts, proxies, creative production, app rents, and tool subscriptions. Teams also distinguish realized ROI from projected ROI on RevShare and hybrid deals, where revenue arrives over months. A campaign showing -20% ROI in week one can be a winner once the revenue tail is counted; judge each model on its own payback horizon.