Free financial calculator

Stock Return Calculator

Total return from price gain + dividends - absolute and annualized.

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Also available in German: Aktien-Rendite-Rechner →

Inputs

Buy price

Purchase price (cost basis)

Also called: Cost per share, entry price

Where to find it: Your broker’s portfolio view or trade confirmation.

How to derive: Amount paid ÷ number of shares bought; for several buys, the average. Not today’s price.

Sell/current price

Share price

Also called: Stock price, market price

Where to find it: Any finance site (Google/Yahoo Finance), the current trading price per share.

How to derive: Set by the market; just enter the current price per share.

Dividends received per share

Holding period (years)

Result, live

Total return

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Annualized (CAGR)

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CAGR makes investments comparable: +60% over 4 years = 12.5% p.a. - always count dividends!

The stock return calculator shows your total return from price gain plus dividends, once as an absolute figure and once per year (CAGR). That lets you compare investments with different holding periods on equal terms.

How the formula works

Total return adds the sell price and dividends received, then compares them with your buy price. The CAGR turns that into the annual rate that would produce the same result over the holding period.

CAGR = ((Sell + Dividends) ÷ Buy)^(1÷Years) − 1

Example: bought at $50, now $80, plus $6 of dividends over 4 years, that's +72% in total, or about 14.5% p.a.

How to read the result

Total return: your full gain or loss over the whole holding period, dividends included.
Annualized (CAGR): the yearly average, which makes short and long investments comparable.
For reference: the broad stock market returned roughly 7% p.a. over the long run.

What to watch out for

The return is backward-looking, it says nothing about future performance.
Taxes on gains and buy/sell fees are not deducted.
Reinvested dividends could lift the real return slightly, depending on timing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between total return and CAGR?

Total return is the full gain over the whole period. CAGR spreads it evenly across the years: +72% over 4 years works out to about 14.5% per year.

Why should I include dividends?

Because they are a real part of your return. For high-dividend stocks they add up to a large share over the years, leaving them out badly understates your gain.

Does it work for ETFs too?

Yes. Enter the buy price, current price, distributions per share and the holding period. For accumulating ETFs the income is already in the price, just leave the dividend field empty.

How do you calculate the total return on a stock?

Total return = (sell price + dividends received − buy price) ÷ buy price × 100. Example: bought at $50, now at $65, plus $5 in dividends: (65 + 5 − 50) ÷ 50 × 100 = 40%. Fees and taxes are not deducted.

How do you calculate the annual rate of return on a stock?

With the CAGR: ((sell price + dividends) ÷ buy price) to the power of (1 ÷ years), minus 1. Example: a 40% total return over 5 years comes to about 7.0% a year, not 8% (40 ÷ 5), because every year builds on the one before. That is the only fair way to compare holdings with different holding periods.

What is the difference between price return and total return?

Price return only counts the change in the share price, total return adds the dividends. If a stock rises from $50 to $65, that is a 30% price return; with $5 in dividends it is a 40% total return. For companies that pay out a lot, the gap grows a lot over the years.