What is the Excel PRODUCT Function?
What does product mean in math? In mathematics, a product is a result of multiplying. The Excel PRODUCT function is an Excel function that multiplies all the numbers in the argument.
The PRODUCT function results are similar to a multiplication formula using the asterisk “*” sign, but the PRODUCT function is more useful if you want to multiply in large numbers.
PRODUCT Syntax
PRODUCT(number1, [number2], ...)
number1, required, number or range to be multiplied.
number2, optional, other numbers or ranges to be multiplied, maximum 255 numbers or ranges.
Usage Notes:
- Only numbers are multiplied.
- Empty cells, logical values, and text are ignored.
How to Use PRODUCT Function in Excel
For example, there is data as shown below. What is the result of the PRODUCT function that uses data in columns A to E as the number argument?
PRODUCT Function #1
=PRODUCT(A1:D1)
The result is the multiplication of the four numbers in the range A1:D1.
The result is 24
PRODUCT Function #2
=PRODUCT(A2:D2)
A result is a negative number because there is a negative number in range A2:D2.
The result is -24
PRODUCT Function #3
=PRODUCT(A3:D3)
Even though there is a negative number, the result of the PRODUCT function can be a positive number if the number of negative numbers is even.
The result is 24.
PRODUCT Function #4
=PRODUCT(A4:D4)
If there is an alphanumeric data, the PRODUCT function does not attempt to convert it to numbers but ignores it. So only numbers in cell A4, C4 and D4 are multiplied.
The result is 12.
PRODUCT Function #5
=PRODUCT(A5:D5)
In addition to text, logical values are also ignored by the PRODUCT function. In this case, the results are different if you multiply using the asterisk “*” sign because TRUE/FALSE will be converted to number 1/0 if involved in mathematical operations (addition/multiplication).
Excel only multiply the number in cell A5 and D5. The result is 4.
Please see the complete results of the excel PRODUCT function in column E in the image below.
