The "residual value" of an investment is the value at the end of the investment lifetime. For example, in a lease the residual value is the estimated value at the end of the lease term. By graphing this residual value against the internal rate of return you can determined the minimum residual value necessary to guarantee a certain return on your investment. Another example would be real estate "sales price". Before you sell a piece of real estate, you can determine your return on investment by analyzing this graph. This graph shows the before and after tax information.