What if you had invested $10k? Enter any US stock and find out.
Enter any US stock ticker symbol — such as AAPL for Apple, MSFT for Microsoft, or TSLA for Tesla — into the search bar to get started. Once you select a stock, choose your investment timeframe using the preset buttons (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, YTD, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, or 10 years) or set a custom date range for full flexibility.
Enter the dollar amount you would have invested. The calculator fetches real historical price data and computes exactly what your investment would be worth today, including price appreciation and daily percentage changes.
Want to see how different stocks performed over the same period? Add up to 4 tickers to compare returns side by side on a single interactive chart. The comparison view normalizes all stocks to the same start date so you get a fair, apples-to-apples comparison of performance.
You can also check each stock's 52-week high and low, current market cap, and daily price changes — all in one place, with no signup or account required.
A stock return measures how much your investment gained or lost over a given period. It is typically expressed as a percentage and can include two components: capital gains (the change in stock price) and dividend income (cash payments made by the company to shareholders).
The simplest way to calculate a stock return is the total return formula:
Total Return = ((Ending Value - Beginning Value + Dividends) / Beginning Value) x 100
For example, if you bought a stock at $100, it rose to $120, and you received $5 in dividends, your total return would be 25%.
When comparing investments held over different time periods, raw total return percentages can be misleading. A stock that returned 60% over 2 years outperformed one that returned 100% over 8 years — but the raw numbers suggest otherwise. This is where CAGR comes in.
CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate. It smooths out the volatility of year-to-year returns and tells you the equivalent steady annual growth rate your investment would have needed to reach its final value. The formula is:
CAGR = (Ending Value / Beginning Value)(1/Years) - 1
A $10,000 investment that grew to $16,000 over 5 years has a CAGR of approximately 9.86% — meaning it grew at an average rate of 9.86% per year, compounded.
Many investors focus only on stock price changes, but dividends are a significant component of total return. Historically, dividends have accounted for roughly 30-40% of the S&P 500's total return over long periods. A stock yielding 3% annually may seem modest, but over 20 years with dividend reinvestment (DRIP), those reinvested dividends purchase additional shares that themselves earn dividends — creating a compounding snowball effect that can dramatically boost your ending portfolio value.
Price return only measures the change in a stock's share price. Total return includes dividends and other distributions. When evaluating any investment, always look at total return — price return alone understates the real performance of dividend-paying stocks. Our calculator uses adjusted historical prices that account for stock splits, giving you accurate return calculations across any time period.
The calculator uses real historical adjusted close prices sourced from financial data providers. Adjusted prices account for stock splits, ensuring accurate long-term return calculations. However, results are for informational purposes only and may differ slightly from actual brokerage returns due to the timing of trades, intraday price fluctuations, and data rounding.
Yes. All price data used in calculations is split-adjusted. This means if a stock underwent a 4-for-1 split, historical prices are retroactively adjusted so that return calculations remain accurate and consistent across the entire date range. You do not need to manually account for any splits.
DRIP stands for Dividend Reinvestment Plan. Instead of receiving dividend payments as cash, DRIP automatically uses those dividends to purchase additional shares of the same stock. Over time, this creates a compounding effect — you own more shares, which generate more dividends, which buy even more shares. DRIP is widely considered one of the most effective long-term wealth-building strategies for buy-and-hold investors.
Yes. You can compare up to 4 stocks side by side on a single interactive chart. The calculator normalizes all tickers to the same start date and investment amount, giving you a fair comparison of how each stock performed over the same period. This is useful for evaluating whether you should have invested in one stock over another.
The calculator supports preset timeframes of 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, year-to-date (YTD), 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, and 10 years. You can also set a fully custom date range by selecting specific start and end dates. The available date range depends on when the stock first started trading.
No. The returns shown are pre-tax and do not include brokerage fees, transaction costs, capital gains taxes, or dividend taxes. Actual after-tax returns will vary based on your tax bracket, holding period (short-term vs. long-term capital gains), and account type (taxable brokerage, IRA, 401k, etc.). Consult a tax professional for personalized guidance.
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is calculated using the formula: CAGR = (Ending Value / Beginning Value)^(1/Years) - 1. It represents the constant annual return that would take your beginning investment to its ending value over the given time period. CAGR is the best metric for comparing investments held for different durations because it normalizes returns to a per-year basis.
Yes. You can enter any US-listed ticker symbol, including ETFs like SPY (S&P 500), QQQ (Nasdaq 100), DIA (Dow Jones), VTI (Total Stock Market), and sector-specific ETFs. To benchmark your stock against the broader market, simply add SPY as one of your comparison tickers. Mutual fund ticker symbols are also supported if they are publicly listed.
This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, financial planning, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Returns shown are pre-tax and do not account for brokerage fees, transaction costs, or expense ratios. All calculations use historical data which may contain minor inaccuracies. Investors should perform their own due diligence and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.