Introduction

Year over year growth is an important financial metric that calculates the percentage change in a specific value across a given period, typically one year. Excel is an incredibly powerful tool for financial analysis, and calculating year over year growth is an easy task to accomplish using basic formulas. In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of calculating year over year growth in Excel.

Step 1: Enter Your Data

First, start by entering your data into Excel. In our example, we’ll use yearly revenue figures. Arrange your data in two columns, with Column A containing the years and Column B containing the revenue figures.

“`

A        B

Year     Revenue

2018   $1,000,000

2019   $1,200,000

2020   $1,500,000

“`

Step 2: Calculate Year Over Year Growth

In Column C, label it “YoY Growth.” To calculate the growth rate between two consecutive years in Column C:

1. In cell C2 (skip the first row for headers), enter this formula: `=(B2-B1)/B1`

2. Press Enter.

Cell C2 will now display the YoY growth rate between 2018 and 2019 (in this example, it should show 0.2 or 20%).

Step 3: Apply Formula to Other Years

Now you need to apply the formula to calculate YoY growth for other years.

1. Select cell C2 and place your cursor at the lower-right corner until you see a small cross.

2. Left-click and drag down to copy the formula to the other cells in Column C.

Your sheet should now look like this:

“`

A      B          C

Year     Revenue  YoY Growth

2018   $1,000,000    –

2019   $1,200,000  0.2 (or 20%)

2020   $1,500,000  0.25 (or 25%)

“`

Step 4: Format Percentages

Finally, you’ll want to format the YoY growth rates as percentages.

1. Select the cells with the YoY growth rates (C2:Cn).

2. Go to the Home tab in the toolbar, and click on the percentage (%) icon in the Number group.

Now your YoY growth rates will be displayed as percentages:

“`

A      B          C

Year     Revenue  YoY Growth

2018   $1,000,000    –

2019   $1,200,000   20%

2020   $1,500,000   25%

“`

Conclusion

Calculating year over year growth in Excel is a simple and straightforward process using basic formulas. By following these steps, you can easily determine the percentage change in your data and make informed decisions based on historical trends.