EBITDA (Historical) Formula in Excel

Understanding EBITDA (Historical)

The EBITDA (Historical) formula in Excel, integrated with MarketXLS, helps you retrieve a company’s historical earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. This figure is often used to gauge a firm’s operating performance by excluding non-operational costs and accounting measures.

• Purpose: Provides insight into a firm’s profitability, ignoring non-cash expenses and financing costs.
• Key Benefits:
  • Focuses on core operational performance.
  • Simplifies cross-company comparisons.
  • Helps investors and analysts identify sustainable earnings.
• When to Use: Use this formula to compare the profitability of companies with different capital structures and depreciation costs, or when you want a quick metric of operational health over various historical periods.

Syntax and Parameters

Use the hf_EBITDA function to get the historical EBITDA value for a specified year, quarter, or trailing twelve months.

=hf_EBITDA(Symbol, Year, [Quarter], [TTM])

?? Note: This function requires a valid MarketXLS subscription designed for historical fundamental data. An invalid symbol, license, or data subscription results in "NA".

Return Value:
• Returns a numeric value representing EBITDA for the specified period.
• Returns "NA" if the data is unavailable or if an error occurs.

Examples and Usage

Below are typical ways to use the hf_EBITDA formula in Excel:

1. Retrieve a specific year’s EBITDA:

   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", 2022)

   Returns Microsoft’s EBITDA value for the fiscal year 2022.

2. Specify year and quarter:

   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", 2022, 2)

   Returns the EBITDA for Microsoft in Q2 of 2022.

3. Include trailing twelve months (TTM):

   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", 2022, 3, "TTM")

   Returns the trailing twelve-month EBITDA from Q3 of 2022.

4. Special keywords (Last Quarter and Last Year):

   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", "lq")
   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", "ly")

   Returns the value for the last reported quarter or last year, respectively.

5. Combining keywords to go back one quarter/year further:

   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", "lq-1")
   =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", "ly-1")

   Shifts results one more quarter/year into the past.

? Pro Tip: You can reference a cell for the Symbol or Year parameters. For instance, =hf_EBITDA(A1, B1) pulls the symbol from cell A1 and the year from cell B1.

Common Questions

1. What if I get “NA” for a specific quarter?

   • MarketXLS may not have data for that quarter, or your subscription may not cover historical fundamentals for that symbol.

2. Does hf_EBITDA handle different date formats?

   • While hf_EBITDA primarily uses year and quarter inputs, you can integrate Excel date functions like:

     =hf_EBITDA("MSFT", TEXT(A1,"yyyy"))

     But typically, you do not provide a direct date for this function; instead, use the relevant year/quarter argument.

3. Can I use the function for options or indices?

   • Yes. Just provide the option symbol, like "@MSFT 110122C00020000", or an index symbol, like "^SPX", and the preferred year/quarter input.

4. Are there performance considerations for large data requests?

   • Each call to hf_EBITDA queries historical financial data. Using too many calls simultaneously may affect performance. To optimize, consider referencing results in a minimal set of cells and reusing those references.

5. Is TTM always available for every quarter?

   • Not always. If TTM data is insufficient or missing for that period, the function may return "NA".

?? Note: For additional insights, explore related functions like hf_Revenue or hf_GrossProfit to form a comprehensive financial analysis.

By integrating the EBITDA (Historical) formula into your Excel workflows with MarketXLS, you gain a powerful tool for analyzing a company’s operational earnings and making more informed investment decisions.