Coupon rate
The annual percentage of par the issuer promises to pay: it fixes the size of the coupon, not the return on the investment.
Formula
The rate is written into the terms of the issue and does not depend on the market price. Yield moves; the coupon stays where it was.
How to read the number
The figure answers how much money the bond will pay, not how much the person who bought it will earn.
When the metric lies
Also known as: nominal coupon rate, stated coupon