If many cells show the formulas themselves, turn off Formulas → Show Formulas. If only a cell or range shows formula text, change its format from Text to General, then press F2 and Enter in the affected cell. If cells show old results, check Formulas → Calculation Options → Automatic.
01When the worksheet shows formulas instead of results
Section linkOn the Formulas tab, look for Show Formulas in the Formula Auditing group. Turn it off if it is active. This changes what the worksheet displays, so you can check the result without editing the formula. If the rest of the worksheet looks normal, check the affected cell’s number format instead.
02When only some formulas show as text
Section linkCheck that the formula starts with an equals sign and has no leading apostrophe. On the Home tab, change the affected cell’s number format from Text to General. Press F2 and then Enter so Excel reads the entry again. Changing the format alone may leave the original text in place.
03When the result stays the same after an edit
Section linkIn Excel for Windows, press F9 or choose Formulas → Calculate Now. If the result updates, check whether the workbook was in Manual calculation mode. Switch to Automatic under Formulas → Calculation Options if you want results to update as inputs change. That setting affects all open workbooks in desktop Excel, so check before changing it on a shared or calculation-heavy file.
04Check a simple reference if the problem remains
Section linkIn a blank workbook, enter a number in A1 and type =A1 in B1. Change A1 and see whether B1 follows. If it does, go back to the original workbook and check that the formula actually refers to the cell you edited. If you see an error such as #REF!, inspect the broken reference before changing calculation settings again.