GEOMEAN in Collabora Office: Geometric Means and Multiplicative Change Factors
Use Collabora GEOMEAN with positive datasets, equal-product checks and a two-step factor example that differs from an arithmetic average.
Verification status: See the evidence and test scope described in this guide. How formula examples are checked
Quick answer: GEOMEAN calculates a geometric mean. For the positive numeric examples here, it is the nth root of the product of n values. It summarizes multiplicative factors rather than additive totals.
Availability and version history
- Introduced: original Collabora release and launch date are not established by the reviewed sources.
- Availability: currently documented in Collabora Office 26.04 desktop help.
- Platform scope: online and mobile deployments are not inferred from this desktop-help release.
- Checked: October 14, 2026. Function-specific documentation and independent calculations; no native Collabora execution.
Syntax and documented scope
=GEOMEAN(argument1;[argument2];...)
The function accepts up to 255 arguments, including data ranges. Collabora explicitly ignores text and empty cells inside a range. This guide uses positive numbers; the dedicated section does not supply a complete zero, negative-input or native error-code specification.
The product-and-root explanation is an independent mathematical model of the documented geometric mean. Keep full precision during the calculation and round only the displayed answer.
Example 1: a two-value geometric midpoint
Enter 2 in A2 and 8 in A3:
=GEOMEAN(A2:A3)
Expected result: 4, because the product is 16 and its square root is 4. The ratios 4/2 and 8/4 are both two: 4 lies midway on a multiplicative scale.
The arithmetic average is 5, from (2+8)/2. It lies midway by equal differences, since 5-2 and 8-5 are both three. The two means describe different notions of a midpoint.
Example 2: three observations with the same center
Enter 1,4,16 in C2:C4:
=GEOMEAN(C2:C4)
Expected result: 4. The product is 64, whose cube root is 4. Their arithmetic mean is 7.
Now replace the values with 2,4,8. The product is still 64, so the geometric mean remains 4, although the arithmetic mean becomes 14/3, approximately 4.666667. An unchanged geometric mean does not mean that the individual observations or additive total stayed unchanged.
Advanced example: equal average factors for two steps
Suppose a fictional index starts at 100. A first step multiplies it by 1.2, and the next by 0.8. It ends at 96, because 100×1.2×0.8=96.
Put the two factors in E2:E3:
=GEOMEAN(E2:E3)
Expected result: 0.979796, displayed to six decimals. The exact factor is sqrt(0.96), approximately 0.979795897. Applying that unrounded equal factor twice reproduces the combined factor 0.96.
The arithmetic average factor is 1, which would incorrectly imply an unchanged index if applied at both steps. This is a fictional arithmetic demonstration, not a forecast or a claim about any actual investment or process.
When percentages describe multiplicative changes, the inputs in this example are 1.2 and 0.8, not 20 and -20. A change rate and its multiplication factor are different quantities.
Advanced checks: scaling and repeated factors
Multiplying 2 and 8 by ten gives 20,80, whose geometric mean is 40. Repeating 2,8 as 2,8,2,8 keeps the geometric mean at 4, because the fourth root of 256 is 4.
The reciprocal pair 0.5,2 has product one and geometric mean 1. For equal positive inputs 6,6,6, all usual means equal 6. Do not claim a strict inequality between means when every input is equal.
Range labels and practical limits
Adding a text status and a genuinely empty cell to the original numeric range leaves the documented geometric mean at 4. A recorded zero is not a text label: this guide does not assign its native GEOMEAN result from another product’s rules.
Boolean values, numeric-looking text, direct string arguments, formula-empty results, error-containing ranges and extreme-product precision remain unverified. If the question is additive, AVERAGE may be the appropriate measure. HARMEAN explains a different reciprocal-based mean for equally weighted rate situations.
References and verification
Complete function-specific documentation reviewed. Worked outputs are independent mathematical or explicitly documented rule controls, not application screenshots or native test results. Unresolved ordering, type and error boundaries retain their stated scope.