Excel like a finance pro.
Math function
PRODUCT
Multiplies all the numbers given.
When to use it
Multiplies everything you pass in, skipping blanks and text. The compounding use is the important one: a column of growth factors multiplied together is the total growth.
The shape of it
- Syntax
=PRODUCT(number1, [number2], ...)
Worked examples
Multiply a list
=PRODUCT(2,3,4) → 24
Plain multiplication.
Compound growth factors
=PRODUCT(A2:A4) → 1.12476
Growth factors 1.05, 1.03, and 1.04 compound to 12.476% total growth.
Cumulative return from rates
=PRODUCT(1+B2:B4)-1 → 0.12476
Rates 5%, 3%, 4% as B2:B4. Add 1 to each, multiply, subtract 1: the cumulative return.
Worth knowing
- Blanks are ignored rather than treated as 0, so a partially filled column does not zero the result.
- For a geometric average of growth factors use GEOMEAN.
- PRODUCT of a range beats a long chain of * when rows may be added later.
Where it goes wrong
- A single 0 in the range makes the product 0, which is correct but easy to miss.
- Numbers stored as text are skipped, so the product is silently too small.
Related
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