Overview
A through the cycle estimate is an average or expectation for the quantity in question, over the course of a full, or multiple business cycles.
This typically means that the estimation cannot use any data about the current state of the economy that is different from the long run averages.
Example - Credit Loss
A typical example of a through the cycle calculation is the calculation of credit loss in a loan porfolio.
While current economic conditions, such as high or low employment, could indicate that average credit loss in the near future would be higher or lower than average, a through the cycle estimate would ignore these facts and just calculate a long run average.