Cost Of Sales (Historical) Formula in Excel
Understanding Cost Of Sales (Historical)
Cost Of Sales (Historical) in Excel with MarketXLS allows you to retrieve the accumulated total of all costs incurred to produce and sell a product or service during a specified historical period. This formula is ideal for:
- Tracking business operational expenses over time
- Analyzing cost behavior for strategic decision-making
- Comparing current and past performance metrics
By using historical cost of sales data, you gain insights into how production costs fluctuate and can make informed decisions to improve operational efficiency.
Syntax and Parameters
Use the hf_Cost_of_Sales
function to fetch historical cost of sales for a particular stock, index, option, or cryptocurrency. Its syntax is:
=hf_Cost_of_sales(Symbol, year, [quarter], [TTM])
Parameter | Description | Required | Example |
---|---|---|---|
Symbol | The ticker symbol to identify the security (e.g., stock, index, option, or crypto). | Yes | "MSFT", "^SPX", "@MSFT 110122C00020000", "BTCUSD:DEFAULT" |
year | The year or relative year expression (e.g., "2022", "ly", "ly-1", "lq", "lt"). | Yes | 2022 |
quarter | The fiscal quarter to use (1, 2, 3, 4, "lq" for last quarter, or "lq-1" for preceding quarter). Defaults to "1". | No | 2 |
TTM | If set to "TTM", returns trailing-twelve-month data for the specified year and quarter. Can also use "lt", "lt-1" for last TTM or previous TTM. | No | "TTM" |
?? Note: The function may return "NA" if your MarketXLS license is invalid or if the symbol is invalid.
Return Value
• Returns a numeric value representing the historical cost of sales for the given symbol, period, and optional trailing-twelve-month setting.
• Returns "NA" if data is unavailable or an error occurred.
Error Handling
• If the symbol is invalid or the license is not valid, the function returns "NA".
• Ensure that all parameters (year, quarter, etc.) are entered correctly to avoid unexpected results.
? Pro Tip: Combine this function with other fundamental metrics (like revenue and gross profit) to build a comprehensive financial analysis dashboard in Excel.
Examples and Usage
Below are some practical examples:
-
Basic usage with regular symbol:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", 2022)
Retrieves the cost of sales for Microsoft in 2022 (annual).
-
Quarterly data:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", 2022, 2)
Returns the cost of sales for Microsoft in the second quarter of 2022.
-
TTM (Trailing Twelve Months):
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", 2022, 3, "TTM")
Shows the cost of sales for Microsoft trailing twelve months from the third quarter of 2022.
-
Relative period expressions:
» Last Quarter (lq):=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "lq")
» Last Quarter minus one (lq-1):
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "lq-1")
» Last Year (ly) or Last Year minus 1 (ly-1):
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "ly") =hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "ly-1")
» Last 12 months (lt) or previous last 12 months (lt-1):
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "lt") =hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "lt-1")
-
Alternative symbol types:
- Indices:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("^SPX", 2022)
- Options:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("@MSFT 110122C00020000", 2022)
- Crypto:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("BTCUSD:DEFAULT", 2023)
- Indices:
Date Inputs for Year
While this function primarily uses numeric or relative text references for the year
parameter, you can also retrieve the year dynamically:
• Cell reference:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", A1)
• Direct date string (only the year portion is used):
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", "2024-03-15")
• Using an Excel date function:
=hf_Cost_of_sales("MSFT", TEXT(A1,"yyyy-mm-dd"))
Common Questions
1. Can I use this function for multiple asset types?
Yes. You can use the Symbol
parameter for stocks, indices, options, or cryptocurrencies (e.g., "BTCUSD:DEFAULT").
2. What if the formula returns “NA”?
Most commonly, “NA” indicates an invalid symbol, an expired or insufficient license plan, or unavailability of data for that period.
3. Can I reference another cell for the quarter or TTM values?
Absolutely. Just replace the literal or text value with a cell reference containing the desired quarter or TTM indicator.
4. Are there any performance considerations?
Heavy usage of multiple historical data functions can slow down recalculations. Consider:
- Using fewer formulas at once.
- Refreshing on demand or disabling auto-calculation when working with large datasets.
5. How does this compare with other historical fundamentals functions?
MarketXLS provides numerous historical fundamentals (e.g., Revenue (Historical), Gross Profit (Historical), R & D Expenses (Historical)). Each function focuses on a specific financial metric, allowing you to assemble a detailed financial analysis directly in Excel.
?? Note: Always ensure you have the latest MarketXLS updates for the most accurate and efficient data retrieval.
Use Cost Of Sales (Historical) in combination with other MarketXLS formulas to gain a 360-degree view of a company’s financial health in Excel.