Your position
Fees & dividends
Holding period (for annualized return)
Total profit
$0
After fees and including dividends
Full breakdown
Total cost (buy price × shares)$0
Total proceeds (sell price × shares)$0
Price gain/loss$0
Dividends received$0
Transaction fees$0
Net profit$0
Why annualized return matters: a 20% profit sounds identical whether it took 3 months or 3 years — but the annualized return is wildly different (roughly 107% vs 6.3%). Comparing raw ROI across positions with different holding periods can be misleading; annualized return puts everything on the same footing.
This calculator computes pre-tax profit. It does not calculate capital gains tax owed — use the
capital gains tax calculator for that. Not financial advice.
How this stock profit calculator works
The basic formula is straightforward: stock profit equals (sale price minus purchase price) times number of shares, minus transaction fees, plus any dividends received during the holding period. This calculator computes that full picture — not just the price change most people think of as "profit" — along with your ROI percentage and annualized return, which accounts for how long you actually held the position.
A worked example
100 shares bought at $50, sold at $72, held for 18 months, with $150 in dividends and $10 in total fees:
Full profit breakdown
Price gain: (72-50) × 100$2,200
Plus dividends+$150
Minus fees-$10
Total profit$2,340
ROI ($2,340 ÷ $5,000 cost)46.8%
Annualized return (548 days ≈ 18 months)29.1%/year
Notice the dividends added $150 to the profit that a simple price-only calculation would have missed entirely — a 6.8% swing in the final ROI figure. For dividend-paying stocks held over long periods, ignoring dividends can meaningfully understate your actual return.
Why ROI alone can be misleading
A 46.8% ROI sounds impressive in isolation, but it doesn't tell you whether that was a good use of your capital compared to alternatives. The annualized return — 29.1%/year in the example above — is what actually allows fair comparison. A position that returns 10% in one month (annualizing to over 200%) is a fundamentally different result than one that returns 10% over five years (annualizing to under 2%), even though the raw ROI looks identical.
Annualized return also lets you compare a stock's performance against a benchmark like the S&P 500's long-run historical average (roughly 10% nominal annually) on equal footing — a comparison raw dollar profit or ROI alone cannot provide.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator account for taxes?
No — this shows pre-tax profit only. Your actual take-home profit depends on whether the gain is short-term or long-term, your tax bracket, and whether the NIIT surtax applies. Use the capital gains tax calculator to see your after-tax result, and the capital gains tax guide for the full explanation of how holding period changes what you owe.
What's the difference between ROI and annualized return?
ROI (return on investment) is your total profit divided by your total cost — a single number regardless of how long you held the position. Annualized return converts that same profit into an equivalent yearly rate, accounting for the actual holding period, using the formula: (1 + ROI)^(365/days held) − 1. Annualized return is the correct way to compare investments held for different lengths of time; raw ROI is not.
Should I include dividends I reinvested, or only cash dividends?
Include all dividends received, whether taken as cash or automatically reinvested (DRIP). If dividends were reinvested, they purchased additional shares — meaning your final share count and sale proceeds already partially reflect that reinvestment. To avoid double-counting, either track reinvested dividends as part of your final share count and proceeds calculation, or treat this calculator's "shares" field as your original share count only and add reinvested dividend amounts to the dividends field for a simplified approximation.
What counts as a "transaction fee" today?
Most major US brokers eliminated stock trading commissions years ago, so this field is often $0 for typical retail stock trades. It remains relevant for options trades (which often carry per-contract fees), some international or OTC stock trades, certain mutual funds with transaction fees, and any account still charging commissions. Check your specific broker's fee schedule if you're unsure.
How is this different from the breakeven calculator?
The breakeven calculator answers a different question: what price do I need to reach to recover a loss? This calculator answers: given an actual (or hypothetical) buy and sell price, what's my complete profit picture including fees, dividends, ROI, and annualized return? Use breakeven when you're underwater and want to know the recovery target; use this calculator to fully evaluate a completed or planned trade.