Amortization of Intangibles Made Easy

The hf_Amortization_of_Intangibles function in the MarketXLS add-in for Excel allows you to seamlessly retrieve a company's amortization of intangible assets. This value can be crucial for analyzing non-tangible factors contributing to company value, comparing trends between reporting periods, and better understanding how intangible asset costs flow through financial statements.

With this function, you can pull precise amortization data by year, optionally specifying a quarter or retrieving trailing 12 months (TTM) figures. Whether you’re tracking brand value depreciation or evaluating mergers’ intangible assets over time, hf_Amortization_of_Intangibles helps make your analysis both faster and more accurate.

Why Use This Function?

  • Gain deeper insight into intangible asset expenses of a company.
  • Identify trends in amortization over different quarters and years.
  • Retrieve trailing 12-month data to smooth out variation across reporting periods.
  • Compare across multiple symbols to see how intangible expenses affect profitability.
  • Make better-informed decisions by factoring intangible amortization costs into your valuation models and financial analyses.

How to Use in Excel

=hf_Amortization_of_intangibles(Symbol, year, [quarter], [TTM])
  1. Enter the formula into a cell.
  2. Replace "Symbol" with the company ticker (e.g., "AAPL").
  3. Replace "year" with the desired 4-digit year (e.g., "2022").
  4. Optionally specify the quarter (1, 2, 3, or 4). If omitted or blank, the function may use a default to help find the correct time period.
  5. Optionally set "TTM" to "TTM" if you want trailing 12-month data. Otherwise, leave it blank for standard quarterly or annual figures.

When the formula runs, MarketXLS connects with the underlying data source for that ticker symbol, year, and period, returning a numeric value if available—or "NA" if the data cannot be found or your plan does not cover this function.

Parameters Explained

Parameter Description Example Values Notes
Symbol The stock ticker or company symbol. "AAPL", "MSFT" Must be a valid symbol. If invalid or not covered by your plan, returns "NA".
year The 4-digit year for which you want amortization data. "2021", "2022" Typically points to the fiscal year. If no data is available for that year, you’ll see "NA".
quarter (Optional) Quarter within the specified year: "1", "2", "3", or "4". "3" If omitted or "" (an empty string), the function may adjust it internally. In many cases, MarketXLS attempts to fetch an annual figure.
TTM (Optional) "TTM" retrieves trailing 12-month data if available. "TTM" If set, it overrides quarter-based logic and attempts to gather the most recent 12-month total.

Example Usage

Basic Examples

  1. Fetch based on a specific quarter:
    =hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("MSFT", "2022", "2")
    • Looks for Microsoft’s intangible amortization in Q2 of FY 2022. Returns a numeric value if available.

  2. Pull an annual figure (no quarter):
    =hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("AAPL", "2021")
    • Attempts to retrieve total amortization of intangibles for Apple in FY 2021.

  3. Retrieve trailing 12-month data:
    =hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("TSLA", "2022", "3", "TTM")
    • Looks for Tesla’s trailing 12-month amortization of intangibles through a date approximating Q3 2022.

Advanced Scenarios

• Compare multiple symbols across the same quarter:
=hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("GOOG", "2023", "2")
=hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("AMZN", "2023", "2")
Summarize differences in intangible amortization for the same period side by side.

• Integrate with other Excel functions for deeper analysis:
=IF(hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("MSFT", "2022", "4") > 0, "Positive", "Negative or NA")
Decide if intangible amortization is positive or if data is unavailable, then trigger further logic in your spreadsheet.

• Use trailing 12-month data to capture the most recent rolling total:
=hf_Amortization_of_intangibles("NFLX", "2023", "", "TTM")
Leaves quarter blank, but requests TTM to automatically roll up Netflix’s intangible amortization for the preceding 12 months.

Common Questions and Troubleshooting

  1. Why am I getting "NA"?

    • The ticker symbol might be invalid.
    • The data for that specific year/quarter may not exist.
    • Your MarketXLS plan may not support this particular function or data set.
  2. What happens if I omit the quarter parameter?

    • The function tries to adjust the quarter value internally. If annual figures are available, it may return them. If no data is available, it returns "NA".
  3. Can I use TTM plus a quarter?

    • Yes, set TTM to "TTM" and also specify a year/quarter if needed. TTM logic will usually override quarterly figures to focus on trailing 12 months.
  4. Does the function return text or numeric data?

    • Generally numeric for valid results, but "NA" when data is unavailable or not applicable.

Remember, hf_Amortization_of_intangibles offers a direct snapshot of intangible amortization expenses. By combining it with other MarketXLS functions in your spreadsheet, you can build powerful, real-time financial models that highlight both tangible and intangible elements of a company’s performance.