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Stock Return Calculator

Work out total return on a share holding including price gain and dividends received.

About Stock Return Calculator

Price change alone understates return for any dividend-paying holding. Annualising with the holding period is what makes a three-year gain comparable with a one-year one. Index charts usually show price only, which is why long-run equity returns look far lower on a chart than they were with dividends reinvested.

Formula

Stock Return

Total return = (price gain + dividends) ÷ purchase cost

total return
Capital gain plus income, the only complete measure of performance

Worked example

With the default values below, Stock Return Calculator returns Total Return of 44.89%. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Purchase price per shareminimum 0.01
45
Current or sale price per shareminimum 0
62
Number of sharesminimum 0
200
Dividends received per shareminimum 0
3.2
Holding periodaccepts 0.1–50 years
3 years

Results

Total Return
44.89%
Annualised Return
13.16%
Capital Gain
$3,400.00
Dividend Income
$640.00
Total Profit
$4,040.00

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Stock Return
  3. 3Total Return= 44.89
  4. 4Annualised Return= 13.16
  5. 5Capital Gain= 3,400.00
  6. 6Dividend Income= 640.00
  7. 7Total Profit= 4,040.00

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Stock Return calculated?

Total return = (price gain + dividends) ÷ purchase cost Price change alone understates return for any dividend-paying holding. Annualising with the holding period is what makes a three-year gain comparable with a one-year one.

Why does Stock Return matter?

Index charts usually show price only, which is why long-run equity returns look far lower on a chart than they were with dividends reinvested.

What values do I need to enter?

This calculator takes 5 inputs: Purchase price per share, Current or sale price per share, Number of shares, Dividends received per share, Holding period. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.

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