Calculate total return, CAGR, and after-tax profit on any stock trade — including dividends and commissions.
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Trade Details
Dividends, fees, dates and tax assumptions
Up to 100 payments. Dividends stay external cash and do not buy additional shares.
Presets
Total Profit (pre-tax)
+$5,000
$10,000 invested · 50.0% gain
From acquisition cash to ending wealth
Component
Signed amount (USD)
Ending wealth (USD)
Money-weighted annual return N/A
After-tax money-weighted annual return N/A
Total Return
+50.00%
CAGR
+14.47%
per year
Additional return and position details
After-Tax Profit
+$4,250
Cost Basis
$10,000
Capital Gain / (Loss)
$5,000
Annual Div. Yield
0.00%/yr
Real CAGR (infl-adj.)
N/A
Break-even Price
—
Shares sold after split
N/A
Trade Cash and Tax Illustration
Item
Amount
Buy fee included in basis
Gross sale
Sell fee deducted
Capital-gain tax estimate
Dividend tax estimate
Cost Basis
$10,000
Sale Proceeds (excl. dividends)
$15,000
Dividends Received
$0
Capital Gain / (Loss)
$5,000
Dividends (taxable)
$0
Total Taxable Amount
$5,000
Tax Rate Applied
15.0%
Total Tax Owed
$750
After-Tax Profit
+$4,250
After-Tax Return
+42.50%
Entered tax assumptions: Capital gains and dividends can use separate rates. Only positive capital gains are taxed; losses do not generate a refund. Eligibility, filing year, jurisdiction, holding-period classification, loss offsets and NIIT are not determined. Dividends are external cash; annualized return treats them as endpoint wealth rather than dated cash flows.
The acquisition, share count, split, fees, tax rates and dividend cash stay fixed. No benchmark is modeled.
Input the share price you paid, the number of shares purchased, and any trading commission. Use the trade-confirmation values if you have them for accuracy.
2
Enter Current or Sale Price
Input the price per share at sale (or today's market price for an unrealized return). Add the sale commission if you closed the position.
3
Add Dividends Received
Enter either an undated dividend total or each dated external payment. Dividends do not buy shares; do not double count reinvested purchases.
4
Enter Holding Period
Choose purchase/sale dates (ACT/365) or years/months. Date each dividend for money-weighted return. Endpoint CAGR includes undated dividend cash at the end.
5
Review Total and Annualized Return
Reconcile the signed cash bridge and before/after-tax results. Compare alternate exits with fixed acquisition inputs. No benchmark or risk-adjusted performance is inferred.
Profit equals split-adjusted net sale plus external dividend cash minus acquisition cash. Buy fees enter acquisition cash; sale fees reduce proceeds. Separate fees are the default; the explicit legacy option splits combined commissions equally. Dividends remain external cash, with either one undated total or individual payment dates; reinvested shares are not modeled.
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
CAGR = (endingValue / buyCost)^(1 / years) − 1
CAGR is an endpoint rate, not an arithmetic average or dated IRR. Dividends enter ending wealth without reinvestment. A positive duration is required; zero ending wealth gives −100%, while negative ending cash has no real CAGR.
Dates use actual days divided by 365. Dividend payments are external positive cash flows; acquisition cash is negative and net sale settles at exit. The rate must exceed −100%; multiple or missing finite roots are unavailable. With no later cash, −100% is a labeled total-loss boundary, not a finite XIRR root. Taxes use the entered rates and assumed payment dates.
Reviewer: Calculover Editorial Review - Source and limitation review
Last reviewed: 2026-05-14
Last verified: 2026-10-18
Data effective: 2026-05-14
Methodology
Acquisition cash = original shares × purchase price + buy fee. Ending wealth = split-adjusted gross sale − sell fee + external dividends. Endpoint CAGR treats dividend cash at the end without reinvestment. With complete purchase, sale and dividend dates, a separate ACT/365 money-weighted rate solves discounted cash flow = 0. Multiple or missing solutions remain explicit. After-tax dated cash assumes dividend tax on each payment date and capital-gain tax at sale.
Assumption: Stock Return Calculator relies on the user-entered purchase price, sale price, dividend total, commissions, and holding period and does not independently verify quotes or trade-confirmation values.
Assumption: Acquisition cash = original shares × purchase price + buy fee. Ending wealth = split-adjusted gross sale − sell fee + external dividends. Endpoint CAGR treats dividend cash at the end without reinvestment. With complete purchase, sale and dividend dates, a separate ACT/365 money-weighted rate solves discounted cash flow = 0. Multiple or missing solutions remain explicit. After-tax dated cash assumes dividend tax on each payment date and capital-gain tax at sale.
Assumption: Commissions, fees, bid-ask spread cost, and tax effects depend on broker, account type, and jurisdiction.
Limitations & guidance
Stock Return Calculator computes historical or hypothetical returns and does not predict future performance.
Single-stock returns differ from index returns and can be materially affected by company-specific events, dividend changes, splits, mergers, and accounting restatements.
Entered capital and dividend tax rates are assumptions applied separately to positive capital gains and dividend cash. Capital losses do not create an automatic refund. The tool does not determine holding-period eligibility, qualified dividends, loss offsets, NIIT, jurisdiction rules or a tax return. Real annualization uses (1 + nominal CAGR) / (1 + inflation) − 1.
Professional guidance: Stock Return Calculator is for investing education only and is not investment, tax, or financial advice. Review portfolio decisions, tax-lot identification, and rebalancing strategy with a qualified financial professional.
Total Return ↗The complete return on an investment including price appreciation, dividends, and any other distributions, minus transaction costs. The full measure of an investor's gain or loss.
Capital Gain ↗Net sale proceeds minus acquisition cash. Entered tax rates apply to positive gains; eligibility and loss offsets are not determined.
Dividend Yield ↗Annual dividends per share divided by current share price, expressed as a percentage. Useful for comparing income-generating potential across stocks at different prices.
CAGR ↗Constant endpoint annual rate from acquisition cash to net sale plus external dividend cash. It excludes reinvestment and dated cash-flow weighting.
Cost Basis ↗The original investment amount including share price plus commissions, used to calculate gain or loss at sale. Adjustments include reinvested dividends, stock splits, and return-of-capital.
Wash Sale ↗IRS rule disallowing a loss deduction if you buy substantially identical securities within 30 days before or after the sale. Common pitfall in tax-loss harvesting.
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Scenarios
Real-World Examples
3 worked examples▸
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Buy-and-Hold Investor
Apple shares held 5 years
Purchase Price $150Shares 20Sale Price $235Dividends Collected $92Holding Period 5 years
Zero fees/taxes: $3,000 acquisition cash, $4,792 ending wealth, $1,792 profit, 59.7333% holding return, 9.8194% endpoint CAGR. The $92 dividends are external cash; no benchmark comparison is inferred.
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Dividend Reinvestor
Coca-Cola with DRIP enabled, 10 years
Purchase Price $45Initial Shares 100Sale Price $62Dividends Reinvested $1,840Holding Period 10 years
Treat $1,840 as external cash, not DRIP shares. Zero fees/taxes: $4,500 basis, $8,040 ending wealth, $3,540 profit, 78.6667% return, 5.9752% endpoint CAGR. Actual reinvestment needs a separate dated ledger.
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Underperforming Single-Stock Bet
Concentrated position that lagged the market
Purchase Price $85Shares 50Current Price $78Dividends Collected $110Holding Period 3 years
With zero fees/taxes: acquisition cash $4,250; sale $3,900 plus dividends $110 gives $4,010 ending wealth. Loss is $240, holding-period return −5.6471%, and three-year endpoint CAGR −1.9189%. No dated market benchmark is entered.
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Reference
Cite This Calculator
APA & MLA▸
Use either format to cite this calculator in a paper, report, or resource list.
Profit equals split-adjusted net sale plus external dividend cash minus acquisition cash. Buy fees enter acquisition cash; sale fees reduce proceeds. Separate fees are the default; the explicit legacy option splits combined commissions equally. Dividends remain external cash, with either one undated total or individual payment dates; reinvested shares are not modeled.
Why Dividends Matter More Than You Think
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Acquisition cash = original shares × purchase price + buy fee. Ending wealth = split-adjusted gross sale − sell fee + external dividends. Endpoint CAGR treats dividend cash at the end without reinvestment. With complete purchase, sale and dividend dates, a separate ACT/365 money-weighted rate solves discounted cash flow = 0. Multiple or missing solutions remain explicit. After-tax dated cash assumes dividend tax on each payment date and capital-gain tax at sale.
CAGR vs. Total Return — When Each Matters
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Choose actual purchase/sale dates for an ACT/365 year fraction, or enter an explicit duration in years or months. Unit changes preserve duration in the duration mode. Endpoint CAGR includes undated dividends at the end. Date every dividend for the separate money-weighted result. Zero ending wealth gives a −100% endpoint return; negative ending cash has no real endpoint CAGR. No benchmark is supplied.
The Hidden Cost of Trading Commissions and Spreads
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Acquisition cash = original shares × purchase price + buy fee. Ending wealth = split-adjusted gross sale − sell fee + external dividends. Endpoint CAGR treats dividend cash at the end without reinvestment. With complete purchase, sale and dividend dates, a separate ACT/365 money-weighted rate solves discounted cash flow = 0. Multiple or missing solutions remain explicit. After-tax dated cash assumes dividend tax on each payment date and capital-gain tax at sale.
Benchmarking Your Single-Stock Returns
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Choose actual purchase/sale dates for an ACT/365 year fraction, or enter an explicit duration in years or months. Unit changes preserve duration in the duration mode. Endpoint CAGR includes undated dividends at the end. Date every dividend for the separate money-weighted result. Zero ending wealth gives a −100% endpoint return; negative ending cash has no real endpoint CAGR. No benchmark is supplied.
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Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
6 questions▸
What is total return?+
Profit = net sale + external dividends − acquisition cash. Fees are separate by default; the legacy option splits a combined fee equally. Dividends may be dated or undated; reinvested shares are excluded.
How is CAGR different from average annual return?+
CAGR is an endpoint rate, not an arithmetic average or dated IRR. Dividends enter ending wealth without reinvestment. A positive duration is required; zero ending wealth gives −100%, while negative ending cash has no real CAGR.
Should I include dividends in my return calculation?+
Profit = net sale + external dividends − acquisition cash. Fees are separate by default; the legacy option splits a combined fee equally. Dividends may be dated or undated; reinvested shares are excluded.
Do I count taxes in my return?+
Entered rates separately tax positive capital gains and dividend cash. Losses do not create refunds. Eligibility, holding-period classification, loss offsets, NIIT and jurisdiction rules are excluded. The headline is before tax; the separate after-tax results are illustrations.
What is a wash sale and why does it matter?+
The IRS disallows a loss deduction if you buy a substantially-identical security within 30 days before or after the sale. The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the replacement shares, deferring (not eliminating) the deduction.
How do stock splits affect my return calculation?+
Splits do not change your return — they only change the share count and per-share price proportionally. When recording cost basis after a split, divide the original purchase price by the split ratio (a 2-for-1 split halves the per-share basis but doubles share count, keeping total basis constant).
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