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Forecast function in Excel

A useful function for business
FORECAST function in Excel is a statistical function that calculates, or predicts, a future value by using existing values. The predicted value is a y-value for a given x-value. The known values are existing x-values and y-values, and the new value is predicted by using linear regression. You can use this Excel function to predict future sales, inventory requirements, consumer trends or weight loss!.
Syntax
FORECAST(x,known_y's,known_x's)
X is the data point for which you want to predict a value.
Known_y's is the dependent array or range of data.
Known_x's is the independent array or range of data.
Remarks
  • If x is nonnumeric, FORECAST returns the #VALUE! error value.
  • If known_y's and known_x's are empty or contain a different number of data points, FORECAST returns the #N/A error value.
  • If the variance of known_x's equals zero, then FORECAST returns the #DIV/0! error value.

The equation for FORECAST is a+bx, where:
forecast function in Excel
and:
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and where x and y are the sample means AVERAGE(known_x's) and AVERAGE(known y's).
The Excel training video demonstrates the concept.
Description of the forecast function in Excel
An interesting use of the forecast function in Excel
Forecast function in Excel
business