Guide · The ontology
Drivers and risks
A driver is a reason management gives for a change in a metric, such as higher prices lifting revenue. A risk, or headwind, is something it says could hold a metric back. Both name the metric they affect, whether the effect is positive or negative, and the part of the business they concern.
Drivers
A release rarely gives a number without a reason. When it says revenue grew because of higher volumes in one segment, the graph records a driver: the cause, the metric it affected, whether the effect was positive or negative, and the segment, product, region or company it concerns.
Risks
A risk is the forward-looking counterpart: a headwind or uncertainty management names, such as tariffs, currency moves or weaker demand in a region. It records the same parts as a driver.
Why they matter
Numbers say what happened; drivers say why, in the company's own account. The same driver or risk showing up in several releases in a season can point to something an industry shares. They are management's explanations, which are not always the whole story.
Each one links to the passage it came from.