Describe › Standalone plots

Waterfall plot

A waterfall chart starts each bar at the running total, taking the palette colour when positive and staying red when negative so changes stand out.

What is Waterfall plot?

Waterfall charts visualise how a starting value transforms to an ending value through a sequence of positive and negative contributions. Originally a finance tool (start with revenue, subtract costs, end with profit), they're now standard in any 'decomposition of change' analysis.

Each bar's height is the change; the bar's vertical position is the running total. Negative contributions sit *below* the running line, with the colour signalling direction.

When should I use Waterfall plot?

Profit-and-loss style decomposition.
Step-by-step accounting of why a quantity changed.

What data does it need?

Categorical label column + signed numeric value column.

What does it report?

Stacked-bar waterfall with the running total visualised.

How do I interpret the result?

Reading order matters: waterfalls show *cumulative* effect. Re-ordering the categories changes the visual story even with identical totals.