Using The Finbox Google Sheets Add-on
DEPRECATION NOTICE:
Due to a change in policy with our data provider, we're in the process of removing this spreadsheet add-on feature. The spreadsheet add-on is no longer offered to new free or paid users. This functionality will remain available to existing paid users until May 31, 2021. After May 31, 2021, the =FNBX() spreadsheet add-ons will be removed completely.
If you have any questions about this notice, please email support@finbox.com.
In this article
Using the = FNBX( ) function
Once you've installed and enabled the add-on, you can construct a formula by typing = FNBX( ) into any cell. The formula accepts inputs in the order described below.
= FNBX( "ticker" , "metric_slug" , "period" )
Note: Providing a period is optional and will default to the latest supported time period.
Ticker
Finbox supports thousands of companies listed on exchanges all over the world. If you need data for a company we don't currently support, send us a note at support@finbox.com and we'll do our best to accommodate you.
You can also search for a ticker right from the Finbox sidebar in Google Sheets. (Add-ons > Finbox > Search Supported Functions)
Metric Slug
Finbox aggregates and computes hundreds of metrics for each of the companies we support. Timeseries metrics like the stock price may contain over 10 years of historical data.
You can search for the metric_slug associated with a metric in one of three ways:
1) using the Data Explorer, or
2) using the metrics listing spreadsheet, or
3) using the search utility in Google Sheets. (Add-ons > Finbox > Search Supported Functions)
Period
To make it easy for our own team to work with this data, we developed a unique key-value query language we call FinQL. To standardize access to timeseries data that may have different reporting intervals, some metrics include a list of supported "periods". Periods allow you to select the reporting interval and calendar range of data you'd like to retrieve.
For example, revenue is reported on a quarterly and annual basis, as determined by a company's fiscal calendar. The last 10 years of annual revenue figures is represented by the periods FY-9 to FY. Similarly, the last 8 quarters of reported quarterly revenue is represented by periods FQ-7 to FQ.
A metric like stock price ( asset_price_close_adj) has data available with a daily frequency. To retrieve the last 30 days of close prices for a company, you can request data from periods D-30 to D. You can also simply provide a date ("2020-03-31") or reference a date that is in another cell as the third parameter. Note, providing a period is optional as the function will default to the latest period.
You can search for the period types supported for a metric in one of three ways:
1) using the Data Explorer, or
2) using the period types listed in Column F in the metrics listing spreadsheet, or
3) using the search utility in Google Sheets. (Add-ons > Finbox > Search Supported Functions)
The following table summarizes supported period formats:
Examples
- Get the latest stock price for Microsoft, ticker MSFT
= FNBX( "MSFT" , "asset_price_latest" )
- Get the adjusted closing stock price for Bank of America (BAC) on September 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)
= FNBX( "BAC" , "asset_price_close_adj" , "2008-09-15" )
- Get the total revenue for Facebook (FB), for the latest fiscal year (FY)
= FNBX( "FB" , "total_rev" , "FY" )
- Get the total revenue for Facebook (FB), for the fiscal year before last (FY-1)
= FNBX( "FB" , "total_rev" , "FY-1" )
- Get the total revenue for Facebook (FB), for the fiscal quarter before last (FQ-1)
= FNBX( "FB" , "total_rev" , "FQ-1" )
- Get the revenue forecast for Facebook (FB), two fiscal years into the future (FY+2)
= FNBX( "FB" , "revenue_proj" , "FY+2" )
Pro Tips
Use relative cell references
Instead of typing the ticker and metric_slug inside the formula, put these formula inputs in a separate cell. This will make it easier to debug your formulas.
Using this approach in combination with relative cell references can save you a lot of time. Check the Watchlist section in the FNBX [Demo] spreadsheet for an example.
A2 := AAPL
B2 := name
= FNBX( $A3 , B$2 ) Great
= FNBX( "AAPL" , "name" ) Not As Great
Grab the latest data and recalculate the workbook
To refresh the formulas in a spreadsheet and fetch the latest data points, click the Refresh Worksheet menu option:
Known Issues
Adding a row, adding a column, or reopening a Google Sheet will recalculate all formulas
By design, Google Sheets recalculates all formulas every time you reopen a spreadsheet or change the inputs of a function. This can be frustrating if you're building a fairly large model with lots of = FNBX( ) formulas. In these cases, we recommend creating a separate sheet that pulls in all the external data required and linking to the cells on a separate sheet. This is generally a good financial modeling practice to follow.
Sorting a column will recalculate all formulas
Google Sheets (and spreadsheets in general) are not good at sorting columns that have cells with formulas. Before sorting, we recommend duplicating the sheet and unlinking the values.
