Money ManagementETF vs Mutual Fund: Which Is Better for Beginners?
ETF vs Mutual Fund: Which Is Better for Beginners? Explore costs, tax implications, and trading flexibility for informed investment decisions.
MAJun 11, 2026Read More →
Stock Return Calculator
See the full picture of a holding's performance. Combine price appreciation and dividends into a total return, then convert it to an annualized rate so you can compare it across time and against other investments.
Written by TopicDrill Editorial Team·Updated June 2026
Value over the holding period
Position value
Advertisement
How the stock return calculator works
The tool splits your gain into two sources. Price appreciation is the change in share price times the number of shares, and dividend income is the total dividend per share times your shares. Added together and divided by your original cost, they give your total return. The tool then annualizes that figure into a compound annual growth rate.
The chart grows your starting cost at that annual rate across the holding period, so the curve shows how the position compounded year by year to reach its ending value rather than jumping straight from buy to sell.
A quick example
Buy 100 shares at $40, a $4,000 cost, and sell five years later at $75 while collecting $4 per share in dividends along the way. Price appreciation is $3,500 and dividends add $400, for a total return of $3,900, or about 97.5 percent. As an annualized rate that is roughly 14.6 percent a year.
Things to keep in mind
Annualized return smooths over a bumpy ride, so two stocks with the same CAGR can feel very different to hold. For background on how total return is measured and why it beats looking at price alone, see Investor.gov on total return. To project where a steady annual return could take a balance, try our future value calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is total return on a stock?
Total return is everything you earned from holding the stock, not just the price move. It adds the price appreciation, which is the rise in share price times the shares you hold, to the dividends you collected over the period. Both pieces together divided by what you paid give your total return percent.
What is an annualized return or CAGR?
CAGR stands for compound annual growth rate. It is the single yearly rate that would have grown your starting amount into the ending value over the same number of years. It is found by taking the ending value divided by the starting value, raised to the power of one divided by the years, then subtracting one.
Why is annualized return lower than total return?
Total return is the whole gain across the entire period, while annualized return spreads that gain evenly across each year and accounts for compounding. A 90 percent total return over five years is impressive, but as a yearly rate it works out to roughly 14 percent a year.
Does this calculator assume dividends are reinvested?
It folds the dividend cash you received into the ending value before computing the annualized rate, which is close to treating them as reinvested at the position's own growth rate. If you actually spent the dividends, your realized price-only CAGR would be a little lower than the figure shown.
Related guides
View all →
Business FinanceHow Much Will $1,000 Invested Today Be Worth in 10 Years?
Invest $1,000 today and the answer to "what's it worth in 10 years?" ranges from about $1,040 in a basic savings account to roughly $2,594 at the stock market's long-run average. Here's the math behind every scenario — plus how inflation, fees and taxes change the real number.
MAJun 9, 2026Read More →
Business FinanceHow Much Do You Need to Retire Comfortably? (2026 Guide)
There's no single magic number for retirement — but there are proven formulas that get you close. Using the 4% rule, most people need roughly 25 times their annual spending invested. Here's how to find your personal target, factoring in Social Security, healthcare, inflation and lifestyle.
MAJun 9, 2026Read More →
Advertisement