The Calculate message may remain in the status bar when you enter formulas that include cell references

When you enter formulas that include cell references, the "Calculate" message may remain in the status bar, even though calculation is set to automatic, or if you have manually calculated the file by pressing the F9 key.

Additionally, when you use the Trace Dependents tool, all dependents may not appear.

This behavior occurs when there are 65,536 or more dependencies to unique references (the level or number of links between formulas).

NOTE: If the Iteration option is turned on, circular references also cause the "Calculate" message to remain in the status bar.

Microsoft Excel calculates during different events like column auto-resizing, when entering anything in any cell, and so forth. However, Excel can only track 65,536 dependencies to unique references for automatic calculation.

After the workbook has passed this limit, Excel no longer attempts to recalculate only changed cells. Instead, it recalculates all cells after each change. This behavior is by design of Microsoft Excel.

Microsoft Excel will correctly calculate all formulas. However, the "Calculate" message in the status bar indicates that Microsoft Excel can no longer track the formula dependencies and is calculating every formula in the workbook after each change. If you are unsure when the last calculation event took place and you want to be sure your formulas are up to date, simply start a calculation manually. To do this, press CTRL+ALT+F9 and wait until "Calculating Cells: n%" disappears and "Calculate" returns to the status bar.