Relative periods and calendar alignment

Every function that takes a year now accepts relative periods such as LY and LQ, colon year ranges work the same as dash ranges, calYear aligns to calendar quarters and years, and blank-year quarterly estimates return the next upcoming quarter.

• NEW relative periods in the year argument. "LY" is the latest year with data and "LY-1" the year before, and so on. "LQ" is the latest period the function returns: quarters on quarterly functions, years on annual ones. Ranges use a colon, for example "LY-4:LY", "LQ-7:LQ" or "2020:LY". Estimates and earnings also accept forward offsets such as "LY+1" and "LQ+1". This works on every function that takes a year: statements, ratios, growth, estimates, KPIs, revenue segmentation, owner earnings, earnings, ESG, and insider and analyst functions. See Financial Statements.

• NEW colon year ranges. "2023:2024" now works the same as "2023-2024". Colon ranges must be in quotes.

• CHANGE calYear now aligns to calendar quarters and years. Each fiscal quarter maps to the nearest calendar quarter, and fiscal years ending January to May count as the previous calendar year. Headers keep the same format (Q2-2024, FY-2024) but now mean calendar periods. The Period and Fiscal Year rows still show the company's own fiscal labels. See Key Ratios.

• CHANGE blank-year estimates. A blank year on quarterly estimates now returns the next upcoming quarter. Annual estimates are unchanged and return the next fiscal year. See Analyst Estimates.