Year-over-year growth (percent change)
The problem
Problem statement
A slide deck needs one number: how much revenue grew from last year to this year. B2:B3 holds the two totals. Calculate the growth rate in Growth cell D2, rounded to three decimals — the deck formats it as a percentage afterwards.
Reference both revenue cells rather than typing the totals, so the same formula works when the numbers are updated.
Problem data
Show the sheet as a table (selectable, copyable)
| A | B | D | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Year | Revenue | Growth |
| 2 | 2023 | 480000 | |
| 3 | 2024 | 612000 |
Notes
Percent change is (new − old) ÷ old, which is the same as new ÷ old − 1. The result is a decimal: 0.275, not 27.5. ROUND(...,3) trims floating-point noise before the value goes into a chart. A decline comes out negative, which is correct — do not reach for ABS.
How to approach
Your answer goes in D2. On submit we re-run your formula against 3 different sets of input, so a hardcoded number will fail — the formula has to follow the cells.
- Target cell is D2
- The two revenue values are B2 (last year) and B3 (this year)
- Percent change = (new − old) ÷ old
- Wrap it in ROUND with 3 decimal places
Official solutions
Show 2 solutions — try it yourself first
Approach 1: new ÷ old − 1
=ROUND(B3/B2-1,3)
612000 ÷ 480000 is 1.275, so subtracting 1 leaves 0.275 — a 27.5% increase. ROUND(...,3) keeps three decimals and drops the 0.000000000000x tail that floating-point division leaves behind.
Approach 2: (new − old) ÷ old
=ROUND((B3-B2)/B2,3)
The textbook form: the change (132000) divided by the starting value (480000). Identical result, and easier to read when someone else opens the file.
Function guide
FAQ
What is the percent change formula in Excel?
=(new−old)/old, or equivalently new/old−1. Here that is =ROUND(B3/B2-1,3). Format the result cell as a percentage to display 27.5% instead of 0.275.
Why does my answer show 0.275 and not 27.5%?
Because the formula returns a decimal, not a formatted percentage. Either apply Percentage number format to the cell, or wrap the result in TEXT(...,"0.0%") if the value has to be a string.
Should I use ABS for a decline?
No. A negative growth rate is information: revenue fell 7%. Applying ABS hides direction and makes the chart lie.