Stock Return Calculator — total return, price + dividends

How it works

One formula, split three ways. Total (holding-period) return = (income + ending value − beginning value) ÷ beginning value. This page decomposes it: the price component (sale − purchase) ÷ purchase and the dividend component dividends ÷ purchase, which sum exactly to the total — so you can see how much of the return was capital gain versus income. The annualized figure restates the whole total return per year, (1 + total)^(1 ÷ years) − 1, which is below the total for any multi-year hold. That is the distinction from the neighboring pages: the dividend calculator shows yield alone, ROI is a generic gain-over-cost, and CAGR annualizes price only — this page is the total-return view that folds dividends in.

Worked example

The anchor is CFI's resolved case, this page's default: $10,000 invested, $300 of dividends over the hold, sold for $12,000. Total return = ($300 + $12,000 − $10,000) ÷ $10,000 = 23% — $2,000 of it (20%) from price and $300 (3%) from dividends. Over three years that annualizes to (1.23)^(1÷3) − 1 ≈ 7.14% a year, this calculator's annualization of the published holding-period return.

Frequently asked questions

What is total return?

Everything a stock paid you relative to what you put in: price appreciation plus dividends, over the purchase value. A stock flat on price but paying dividends still has a positive total return — which a price chart alone would miss.

How is this different from CAGR or ROI?

CAGR annualizes price change only; ROI is a generic gain-over-cost that doesn't separate income; the dividend calculator shows yield alone. This page combines price and dividends into one total return and splits it back out, so the income contribution is explicit rather than buried or dropped.

Why annualize the return?

To compare holds of different lengths. A 23% total return is strong over one year and ordinary over ten — the annualized figure, about 7.14% here, puts a three-year hold on a per-year footing comparable to any other investment.

Does this assume dividends are reinvested?

No — it counts dividends as cash received at their face amount. Reinvesting them would compound the return higher, since each dividend buys more shares that themselves appreciate and pay; this page's figure is the dividends-as-cash total return, the conservative reading.

Can total return be negative?

Yes — if the price falls by more than the dividends collected, the total return is negative, and the annualized figure is negative too. The loss preset shows a price drop only partly offset by dividends.

What should I enter for a holding I still own?

Use the current market value as the sale value and the dividends collected so far. The result is your return to date; it will change with the price until you actually sell, so treat an unrealized figure as a snapshot.

How accurate is this, and what does it exclude?

The arithmetic is exact for the values entered. It excludes trading commissions and fees, taxes on dividends and capital gains, dividend reinvestment compounding, and the timing of dividends within the hold (all are treated as received over the period, not discounted to when each was paid). For irregular cash flows at specific dates, an IRR calculation is more precise.