How to Calculate Percentage Change in Excel, Press Enter

Learning how to calculate percentage change in Excel is essential for tracking growth rate, revenue trends, expenses, and performance metrics. The process is simple once you understand the core percent change formula. After entering the formula, you simply press enter and format the result properly.

This guide explains the formula to calculate percentage change in Excel, how to format it correctly, and how to handle special cases like a negative number or division by zero.

The Percent Change Formula

The standard percent change formula is:

(New Value - Old Value) / Old Value

In Excel, if your old value is in cell A1 and your new value is in cell A2, enter this formula in another cell:

=(A2-A1)/A1

Then press enter.

Excel will return a decimal. For example, if the result is 0.25, that means 25%.

Formatting the Result as a Percentage

After calculating percentage change in Excel, you should apply percentage formatting.

Option 1: Use Percentage Formatting

• Select the result cell.
• Go to the Home tab.
• Click the Percent Style (%) button.

This converts 0.25 into 25%.

Option 2: Multiply by 100

If you want to display 25 instead of 25%, you can multiply by 100:

=((A2-A1)/A1)*100

This method manually converts the decimal by multiplying by 100 to convert the value into percent units. Do not also apply percentage formatting if you use this approach.

Example: Percentage Change in Excel Across Rows

Suppose:

• Old value in A2
• New value in B2

In C2, enter:

=(B2-A2)/A2

Press enter, then drag the formula down. Excel automatically adjusts cell references for cells A3, B3, and so on.

Handling a Negative Number

If the new value is lower than the old value, you will get a negative result. For example:

• Old value: 100
• New value: 80

The result will be -20%. This represents a percentage decrease.

Negative values are normal when calculating percentage increase or decrease.

Using the ABS Function

If you only care about the size of the change and not the direction, use the ABS function:

=ABS((B2-A2)/A2)

This removes the negative sign and shows only the magnitude.

Handling Division by Zero

If the old value equals zero, the formula will return a divide-by-zero error.

To avoid this, use an IF statement:

=IF(A2=0,"",(B2-A2)/A2)

This leaves the cell blank if the starting value is zero.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Faster Formatting

Excel provides useful shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Shift + % applies percentage formatting.
• Ctrl + 1 opens the Format Cells dialog box.

Inside the Format Cells dialog box, you can set decimal places and control display settings.

Percentage Change vs Percentage Points

Do not confuse percentage change with percentage points.

If profit margin increases from 10% to 12%, the change is:

• 2 percentage points
• 20% growth rate

The percent change formula measures relative change, not simple subtraction.

Best Practices When You Calculate Percentages

• Always verify cell references.
• Apply percentage formatting instead of multiplying by 100 when possible.
• Use ABS only when direction does not matter.
• Use IF statements to handle zero starting values.
• Keep formulas clean and easy to audit.

Final Thoughts

Now you know how to calculate percentage change in Excel correctly. Enter the formula in Excel, press enter, apply proper formatting, and confirm the result.

With the right percent change formula and clean formatting, Excel makes it easy to calculate percentages accurately for financial models, business reports, and performance analysis.