Variance is a measurement of the spread between numbers in a data set. Investors use the variance equation to evaluate a portfolio’s asset allocation.

For example, you might enter =VAR.S(B12:B32) to find the variance for the data in cells B12 to B32. Important You must start with the "=" so that Excel knows you are entering a formula.

Using information from the market size variance example, the company expected to sell 22,000 units at a total profit of $1,100,000. However, due to the market size variance and market share ...