How to Use the Excel GROWTH Function - 4 Methods

The GROWTH Function in Excel

Summary

The GROWTH function is a statistical function in Excel. It is used to calculate predictive exponential growth for a given set of data. The GROWTH function uses the equation:

y = b*e^x

b is the y-intercept of the curve. And m is the slope parameter of the curve, which can also be written as:

y=b*e^ln(m)x

Syntax

GROWTH(known_ys, [known_xs], [new_xs], [const])

Arguments

Argument	Requirement	Explanation
known_ys	Required	The set of known y values.
known_xs	Optional	The set of known x values. If this parameter is not given, the formula uses (1,2,3..) as the known_xs parameter. If it is provided, it should be of the same length as the set of known_ys.
new_xs	Optional	It is the x values used to return the corresponding y values.
const	Optional	This is either a TRUE or FALSE value. TRUE indicates that the constant b is calculated normally. FALSE means that the constant b is set to 1, and the m-values are adjusted so that y = m^x. If this parameter is not given, the formula assumes the constant parameter as TRUE.

Return Value

The GROWTH function returns numbers in an exponential growth trend matching known data points. This function returns y values for a series of new x values that we specify using existing x values and y values.

Method 1 – Calculating Growth Between Two Data Ranges Using Excel GROWTH Function

Consider a dataset containing two data ranges (X Values and Y Values). Calculate the growth between these two data ranges:

Steps:

Enter the formula below in E5.

=GROWTH(C5:C13,B5:B13)

You will get the growth of X Values:

Method 2 – Applying the Excel GROWTH Function to Predict the Year-wise Revenue

The dataset contains a company’s year-wise revenue. Calculate the revenue for 2018.

Steps:

Enter the formula below in E13.

=GROWTH(C5:C12,B5:B12,B13)

Press Enter.

You will see the growth of the revenue for 2018.

Method 3 – Combining the Excel ROUND and GROWTH Functions to Predict Revenue

In Method 2, the growth for 2018 was $278,542.71. To round the value to zero decimal places:

Steps:

Enter the formula below in E13.

=ROUND(GROWTH(C5:C12,B5:B12,B13),0)

The ROUND function rounds the result of the GROWTH formula ($278,542.71) to zero decimal places.

The approximate revenue is $278,542.

Method 4 – Applying the GROWTH Function As an Array in Excel

Calculate the growth for a range of x-values.

The dataset contains the revenue of 2010-2015. Calculate the growth for the next 3 years (2016-2018):

Steps:

Enter the formula below in C11.

=GROWTH(C5:C10,B5:B10,B11:B13)

You will get the growth of revenue for 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Note:

➤ In Microsoft 365, enter the GROWTH formula. In older versions, press CTRL + SHIFT + Enter to execute the formula. Here, the curly brackets indicate that the function is executed as an array.

Things to Remember

Common errors related to this function:

#REF! – the [known_xs] range length is not similar to known_ys.
#NUM! – the value of known_ys. is less than or equal to zero.
#VALUE! – the value of known_ys, [known_xs], [new_xs] is supplied as text or the values are non-numeric.