Gross Profit (Historical) Formula in Excel

The Gross Profit (Historical) formula in Excel (with MarketXLS) lets you retrieve a company's historical gross profit data over specific annual or quarterly periods. With just a few clicks, you can perform in-depth trend analysis and make informed investment decisions. This formula is part of MarketXLS’s suite of historical fundamental data functions in Excel.

Understanding Gross Profit (Historical)

• Purpose: The hf_Gross_Profit function returns a company’s gross profit for a specified historical period (yearly, quarterly, or trailing twelve months).
• Use Cases:
  • Evaluating a firm’s profitability trends over time
  • Comparing gross profit across different industries or sectors
  • Tracking financial performance for investment or research
• Key Benefits:
  • Simplifies historical analysis of a company's core profitability.
  • Compatible with various time references (e.g., "lq" for last quarter, "ly" for last year).
  • Works seamlessly with other MarketXLS historical fundamental functions.

Syntax and Parameters

Use the following syntax in your Excel worksheet:

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

?? Note: This function requires a subscription to MarketXLS’s historical fundamental data. If no valid subscription is found, the function will return "NA".

Return Value

• Returns the numeric value of gross profit for the specified period if available.
• Returns a string such as "NA" or "Not supported on your plan" for invalid symbols, invalid license, or if no data is available.

Error Handling and Special Cases

• If Symbol is incorrectly formatted or not covered by your plan, the function returns "NA".
• Passing invalid quarter or year formats may lead to unexpected results or “NA”.
• Trailing twelve months ("TTM") calculations aggregate four quarters ending at the specified quarter and year.

? Pro Tip: Combine hf_Gross_Profit with other historical fundamental formulas, like hf_Revenue or hf_Cost_OF_Revenue, to perform quick margin analyses in Excel.

Examples and Usage

Below are some common ways to use the hf_Gross_Profit function in Excel:

1. Retrieving the annual gross profit for 2022:

   =hf_Gross_Profit("MSFT", 2022)

2. Getting Microsoft’s Q2 gross profit for 2022:

   =hf_Gross_Profit("MSFT", 2022, 2)

3. Calculating trailing twelve months (TTM) from Q3 2022:

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

4. Using relative references for last quarter or last year:

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

5. Getting 12-month trailing data without specifying a quarter:

   =hf_Gross_Profit("MSFT", "lt")
   =hf_Gross_Profit("MSFT", "lt-1")

Symbol and Date Input Variations

• Cell reference for the year:

  =hf_Gross_Profit(A1, A2)

• Direct string input for year (or special keyword "lq"):

  =hf_Gross_Profit("MSFT", "lq", 2)

• Using Excel date functions is not common for this formula since input focuses on fiscal year and quarter strings rather than precise dates. However, you can link date logic by converting to year/quarter text as needed.

Common Questions

1. Why am I getting "NA" for certain symbols?

   • Ensure the symbol is valid (e.g., "MSFT" for Microsoft) and covered by your data subscription. Indices, options, and crypto symbols can vary by plan.

2. How do I analyze multiple years at once?

   • Use a table of formulas, each referencing a different year or quarter, to track trends over time.

3. What if my quarter data does not match the calendar quarter?

   • The function attempts to align your requested period with the company’s fiscal quarter. Make sure to use the correct quarter values (1 to 4) or special keywords.

4. How to improve performance?

   • Reduce the number of calls to the function by storing results in dedicated cells. MarketXLS caches results to speed up subsequent requests.

5. Can I use this with crypto or indices?

   • Yes. You can use symbols like "BTCUSD:DEFAULT" for crypto or "^SPX" for the S&P 500 index provided your plan supports these markets.

?? Note: Always confirm your MarketXLS subscription level to ensure historical fundamental data is included.