Question: how to calculate a negative rate of return?
Answer: Assume a business venture returns $100,000 and the initial investment was $125,000. The first part of the ROI calculation is $100,000 minus $125,000, which equals -$25,000. The investment resulted in a $25,000 loss. Divided -$25,000 by the $125,000 investment, and the result is -0.2, or a negative ROI of 20 percent.