summing up an abbreviation is a shortening of a word or a phrase an acronym is an abbreviation that forms a word an initialism is an abbreviation that uses the first letter of each word in the phrase thus some but not all initialisms are acronyms
ROI, or return on investment, is a common business term used to identify past and potential financial returns. Managers and executives look to the ROI of a project or endeavor because this indicates how successful a venture will be.
Analysts normally present return on investment as the return (net gain) due to an action divided by the cost of the action. That is the simple ROI version of the cash flow metric for rating investments, business case results, and other actions.