Excel GEOMEAN Function

The Excel GEOMEAN function returns the geometric mean for a set of numeric values. Geometric mean can be used to calculate average rate of return with variable rates.
- number1 - First value or reference.
- number2 - [optional] Second value or reference.
The Excel GEOMEAN function calculates the geometric mean. Geometric mean is the average rate of return of a set of values calculated using the products of the terms. The general formula for the geometric mean of n numbers is the nth root of their product. For example:
=GEOMEAN(4,9) // returns 6
The long-hand calculation would be:
=(4*9)^(1/2) =(36)^(1/2) =6
The arithmetic mean would be (4 + 9)/2 = 6.5.
In the example shown, GEOMEAN is used to calculate a compound annual growth rate. To to this we use the growth factor values in column D in the GEOMEAN function, then subtract 1. The formula in G7 is:
=GEOMEAN(D6:D10)-1
Notes
- Arguments can be numbers, names, arrays, or references that contain numbers.
- Empty cells, and cells that contain text or logical values are ignored.
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