Revenue attributed to advertising divided by ad spend. A 4x ROAS means $4 in revenue for every $1 spent. It measures ad efficiency, not profit.
For day-to-day optimization of paid campaigns, bid targets and comparing ad sets; always read alongside margin and break-even ROAS.
$2,000 in Meta spend driving $8,000 in tracked sales is a 4x ROAS; a 30% margin business needing at least 3.3x just to break even on ads; retargeting showing 12x ROAS that mostly claims sales that would have happened anyway.
A useful steering metric for paid media. Scored lower because platforms grade their own homework and revenue is not profit. Flagged when ROAS is reported as ROI.
