How to Project a Linear Trend with TREND

TREND projects several future periods at once from a straight-line fit and spills the results — a quick volume forecast.

You will learn to

• Spill a multi-period forecast with TREND
• Total a projected year in one formula
• Compare an actual value with its trend value

How it works

TREND(known_ys, [known_xs], [new_xs]) fits a least-squares line and returns the line’s values at new_xs. Unlike FORECAST.LINEAR, it accepts a whole range of new x values and spills one result per value — perfect for projecting the next four quarters in one go.

TREND can also return the fitted value for a period you already have. The gap between the actual and the trend value (the residual) tells you whether a period was unusually strong or weak.

=TREND(C2:C9,A2:A9,E2:E5)