Definitions

1. noun

A measure of the ‘tailedness’ or ‘peakedness’ of the probability distribution of a real-valued random variable, with positive kurtosis meaning the distribution has heavier or ‘fatter’ tails than the normal distribution, and negative kurtosis meaning the distribution has lighter or ‘skinnier’ tails.

“The researcher analyzed the data and found that it exhibited positive kurtosis, indicating that extreme values were more common than expected under a normal distribution.”

2. noun

A type of skewness in a probability distribution, where the distribution has a high peak and heavy tails, often occurring in financial and economic data.

“The company’s financial data showed signs of kurtosis, which may indicate a potential risk for investors.”