diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/formula.test.tsx b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/formula.test.tsx
index ef40e55a8dc5c..c4402277148c7 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/formula.test.tsx
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/formula.test.tsx
@@ -194,6 +194,30 @@ describe('formula', () => {
       });
     });
 
+    it("should start with an empty formula if previous operation can't be converted", () => {
+      expect(
+        formulaOperation.buildColumn({
+          previousColumn: {
+            ...layer.columns.col1,
+            dataType: 'date',
+            filter: { language: 'kuery', query: 'ABC: DEF' },
+          },
+          layer,
+          indexPattern,
+        })
+      ).toEqual({
+        label: 'Formula',
+        dataType: 'number',
+        operationType: 'formula',
+        isBucketed: false,
+        filter: undefined,
+        timeScale: undefined,
+        scale: 'ratio',
+        params: {},
+        references: [],
+      });
+    });
+
     it('it should move over explicit format param if set', () => {
       expect(
         formulaOperation.buildColumn({
diff --git a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/generate.ts b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/generate.ts
index 42f211cad2eb5..4be0df4f86c1b 100644
--- a/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/generate.ts
+++ b/x-pack/plugins/lens/public/indexpattern_datasource/operations/definitions/formula/generate.ts
@@ -55,6 +55,9 @@ export function generateFormula(
   } else {
     if (previousColumn && 'sourceField' in previousColumn && previousColumn.dataType === 'number') {
       previousFormula += `${previousColumn.operationType}(${getSafeFieldName(previousColumn)}`;
+    } else {
+      // couldn't find formula function to call, exit early because adding args is going to fail anyway
+      return '';
     }
   }
   const formulaNamedArgs = extractParamsForFormula(previousColumn, operationDefinitionMap);