---
title: "Lag, period, and multiplier"
description: "Lag, period, and multiplier are a filter's Advanced inputs that shift or scale a metric in units like Months Ago, Reports Ago, Quarters, or Bars."
canonical_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/lag-period-and-multiplier"
last_updated: "2026-09-24"
md_url: "https://fincanva.com/glossary/lag-period-and-multiplier.md"
---

# Lag, period, and multiplier

Lag, period, and multiplier are the inputs in a [filter](/glossary/filter)'s **Advanced** panel that shift or scale what a metric reads before it is compared. **Lag** moves the reading back in time, **Period** sets the window it covers, and **Multiplier** scales it. Each input carries a unit that depends on the filter — Months Ago, Reports Ago, Quarters, Days, Bars, or Std Devs — so the same control means "four reports ago" on a fundamental filter and "twenty days" on a technical one. They change only the *reading*, never the [comparison mode](/glossary/comparison-modes) or the operator applied to it.

**Also seen as:** Advanced filter settings

## What the lag and period units mean

You set the number; the filter decides which unit it counts in.

| Unit | Used on | Means |
|---|---|---|
| Months Ago | fundamental / price-history filters | shift the reading back by that many calendar months |
| Reports Ago | fundamental filters | shift back by that many financial reports (filings) |
| Quarters | fundamental filters | count in three-month reporting quarters |
| Days | technical / price filters | count in trading days |
| Bars | technical filters | count in price bars (data points on the chart) |
| Std Devs | technical filters | scale in standard deviations of the metric |

The **Period** input is separate and sets the length of a windowed metric, in **Months** or **Years**.

## How does Fincanva handle it?

- The unit is fixed by the filter — you enter the number, the filter decides whether it counts in reports, months, days, bars, or standard deviations.
- Lag is optional; leaving it at zero compares the metric at its latest reading.
- Period sets a window length (in Months or Years) for metrics that summarise a span rather than a single point.

## What does it look like in practice?

A revenue filter in [**vs Lagged Self**](/glossary/comparison-modes) mode uses **Reports Ago** as its lag unit. Set the lag to 4 and the filter reads each company's revenue from four financial reports back — for a company reporting quarterly, roughly a year earlier — and compares it to the latest revenue. "Reports Ago" counts filings, not calendar time, so a company that files quarterly and one that files half-yearly are shifted by different spans for the same lag of 4.

Fincanva is for education and illustration only. It is not personalised financial advice, and past or simulated results do not predict future ones. [Read the Terms Addendum](https://fincanva.com/terms/addendum#section-3)