Level 1Analyst HabitsProject, 8 min
A three-year growth model
The task
Project a company three years out, the way an analyst would: every assumption in one place, every number driven by a formula.
- Grow revenue one yearIn C2, grow 2026 revenue by the growth assumption, locked with
$H$2. - Carry it forwardFill D2 and E2 the same way. Copy C2 (Ctrl+C), select D2:E2 and paste (Ctrl+V), or type them. Then press Check my answer.
- Gross profit for every yearIn B3, apply the gross margin to all four years at once:
=ARRAYFORMULA(B2:E2*$H$3). - Operating profitIn B4, take operating costs out of gross profit for every year: gross profit minus revenue times the opex rate.
- Operating marginIn E5, divide 2029 operating profit by 2029 revenue.
The data
The starting sheet. Cells outlined in green are where your formulas go.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026A | 2027E | 2028E | 2029E | Assumptions | |||
| 2 | Revenue | $966,000 | Revenue growth | 15% | ||||
| 3 | Gross profit | Gross margin | 44% | |||||
| 4 | Operating profit | Opex, % of revenue | 28% | |||||
| 5 | Operating margin |