How to combine text with a percentage in Excel

Q: How do I show a percentage with a plus sign?

Give TEXT a positive and a negative section: TEXT(B2,"+0.0%;-0.0%").

Formula (Excel and Google Sheets)

=A2&" margin: "&TEXT(B2,"0.0%")

Format the number inside the formula with TEXT: =A2&" margin: "&TEXT(B2,"0.0%").

Result on the example: one result per row in C2, filled down to C5
Works in: Excel 2019 and later, including Microsoft 365
Google Sheets: Same formula

See it work

The formula is already in C2, filled down to C5. Change any input and the result updates, or edit the formula to experiment.

How it works

A cell's Percent format only changes how it looks; the value is still 0.4624. Joining it to text with & uses the value, so you get "Lamp margin: 0.4624". TEXT turns the number into text in the format you give it, "0.0%", before it is joined.

=A2&" margin: "&TEXT(B2,"0.0%")

Result"Lamp margin: 46.2%"

A2"Lamp"
The value in A2.
A2&" margin: ""Lamp margin: "
The & operator joins as text.
B246.2%
The value in B2.
TEXT(B2,"0.0%")"46.2%"
TEXT: Formats a number or date as text, e.g. "mmm" or "$#,##0".
- valueB246.2%
- format_text"0.0%"
A2&" margin: "&TEXT(B2,"0.0%")"Lamp margin: 46.2%"
The & operator joins as text.

In Google Sheets

The same formula works in Google Sheets: =A2&" margin: "&TEXT(B2,"0.0%"). We ran it in Google Sheets mode on the same data and it returns the same results.

Other ways to do it

Each one was run on the same example sheet.

Formula	Result	When to use it
=CONCAT(A2," margin: ",TEXT(B2,"0.0%"))	Lamp margin: 46.2%, Chair margin: 34.9%, Desk margin: 33.0%…	The same label with CONCAT instead of &.
=A2&" margin: "&B2	Lamp margin: 0.4624, Chair margin: 0.3494, Desk margin: 0.3296…Different result	The version that goes wrong. Shows the raw decimal: "Lamp margin: 0.4624".

Common mistakes

The format code is in quotes: TEXT(B2,"0%") for whole percents, "0.00%" for two decimals.
The result is text, so it can't be added up or charted. Keep the number in its own cell and use the label only for display.

Try it yourself

Same data, empty answer cell. Your formula is graded instantly, then re-checked on changed data, so a typed-in number won't pass.

Combine text with a percentage

In C2, build a label like "Lamp margin: 46.2%" from the product and its margin, then fill down to C5.

Questions

How do I show a percentage with a plus sign?

Give TEXT a positive and a negative section: TEXT(B2,"+0.0%;-0.0%").

Do format codes differ by language?

Yes. Some non-English versions of Excel use other codes for decimals and dates in TEXT; "0.0%" works in English versions and in Google Sheets.

Checked by running on 2026-10-30: every formula and result on this page was calculated by the Spreadsheet Practice formula engine, in both Excel and Google Sheets modes.