The formula
Excel & Google SheetsExcelGoogle Sheets
=MID(A2,FIND("(",A2)+1,FIND(")",A2)-FIND("(",A2)-1)In C2 → SKU-2231
Excel 365Excel 365
=TEXTBEFORE(TEXTAFTER(A2,"("),")")In C3 → SKU-2231
Google Sheets (regex)Google Sheets
=REGEXEXTRACT(A2,"\((.*?)\)")In C4 → SKU-2231
✓ Tested. All 1 Excel results in this example were recalculated in LibreOffice Calc 25.2 and matched the values shown. 2 results for formulas tagged Excel 365 / Google Sheets were checked with a reference implementation of the documented behavior, because LibreOffice can't run those functions.
Worked example
Paste the data below into a blank sheet starting at cell A1 (or download the cheat sheet, where every example is set up). Highlighted cells hold the formulas and show the expected results.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Description | ||
| 2 | Wireless mouse (SKU-2231) black | SKU-2231 | |
| 3 | SKU-2231 | ||
| 4 | SKU-2231 |
How it works
- FIND("(",A2)+1
- Start right after the opening parenthesis.
- FIND(")",A2)-FIND("(",A2)-1
- Number of characters between the two.
- "\((.*?)\)"
- Regex: escaped parentheses around a lazy capture group; REGEXEXTRACT returns the group.
Common errors and fixes
Why does the formula return #VALUE!?
One of the characters is missing. Wrap in IFERROR(…,"").
Wrong text with repeated characters?
FIND gets the first one. For two dashes, find the second with FIND("-",A2,FIND("-",A2)+1).
Does this work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Use the formulas tagged "Google Sheets" on this page; formulas tagged only "Excel" use Excel-specific syntax.