Stock Return Calculator
Calculate total and annualized stock return from buy price, sell price, dividends, and holding period. Free and accurate.
Independently verified for accuracy
Calculator by Toolsloft ↗- Total return (%)
- 60
- Annualized return (%)
- 16.96
This calculator measures the return on a stock position from your buy price, sell price, dividends received, and how long you held it. It reports both the total return and the annualized return so you can compare holdings of different lengths.
How this is calculated
Total return is the price change plus dividends, divided by the buy price. Annualized return converts that into a yearly rate using the compound formula: the growth factor (sell price plus dividends over buy price) raised to the power of one divided by the number of years, minus one.
How to use
- Enter the price you bought the stock at and the price you sold it at.
- Enter the total dividends received while you held the position.
- Enter the number of years you held the stock.
- Read the total return and the annualized return.
Examples
- Bought $100, sold $150, $10 dividends, 3 years:
total 60%, annualized 16.96% - Bought $50, sold $45, $2 dividends, 1 year:
total -6%, annualized -6%
FAQ
- What is the difference between total return and annualized return?
- Total return is the full percentage gain or loss over the whole holding period. Annualized return spreads that into an equivalent yearly compound rate, which lets you compare investments held for different lengths of time.
- Are dividends included in the return?
- Yes. Dividends received are added to the sale proceeds, so both the total return and the annualized return reflect price change and dividends together.
- How do I handle a holding period that is not a whole number of years?
- Enter the period as a decimal. For example, 18 months is 1.5 years and 6 months is 0.5 years.