The Stock Return Calculator is a free online tool, which helps you understand exactly how much you have gained or lost in a stock trade – in percentage and in rupees. You don't need to use exponents and percentages by hand, just enter your purchase price, selling price, number of units and number of years held, and the calculator will provide you with an instant, correct answer! Use this tool to review or plan a closed or pending trade, without having to do a lot of guesswork with numbers.
What Is a Stock Return Calculator?
The report will include a measure of your investment's absolute return (total percentage increase over time) and annualised return (the equivalent annual percentage increase over time, taking into account the length of time you held the investment). This is an important distinction that most investors aren't aware of. Yes, the return may be the same (20%) but the trade is not.Yes, the return is the same (20%), but the trade is not. A Stock Return Calculator takes both sides of the story into account and you don't have to be left doing a comparison based on a partial equation of both. When you grasp the idea, the calculator carries out the calculations; automatically, instantaneously, and without the possibility of any arithmetic error entering your system.
How Does the Stock Return Calculator Work?
The calculator is based on a popular and generally accepted formula, and all results will be the same and verifiable.
The Formula Behind It
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Absolute Return = (Sell Price − Buy Price) ÷ Buy Price × 100
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Annualised Return (CAGR) = (Sell Price ÷ Buy Price)^(1/t) − 1, where t is the holding period in years
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Profit/Loss = (Sell Price − Buy Price) × Quantity
Annualising the return is important because it allows to compare the returns in different durations. The 30% absolute gain achieved in 6-months is a far more compelling result than the 30% over 3 years; the annualised gain is immediately apparent, rather than asking yourself which trade did better, since the absolute gains are vastly different in 6 months and 3 years.
Why Use an Online Stock Return Calculator?
Manually calculating returns involves computing fractional exponents, converting percentages to decimals, applying multi-step formulas and a single wrong decimal could ruin your entire calculation. This is where a Stock Return Calculator from TheTopStockBroker comes in handy. You can also compare scenarios side by side: you can enter a new sell price, a different holding period or a different quantity and the result will be updated instantly. With a spreadsheet or a calculator application, that could take a lot longer, especially when you're testing out different scenarios, whether you're a novitiate investor learning about the concept of returns, or an expert trader looking at a list of positions on your portfolio.
How to Use the Stock Return Calculator
Step-by-Step Instructions
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Enter your buy price — the price per share at which you purchased the stock.
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Enter your sell price — the price per share at which you sold, or expect to sell.
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Enter the quantity — the number of shares involved in the trade.
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Enter the holding period — how long you held (or plan to hold) the position, in months or years.
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Read your result instantly — absolute return, annualised return and total profit are calculated the moment you enter your values, and update in real time if you change any input.
Example Calculation
If you had purchased a particular stock for ₹150 per share and sold it for ₹210 per share after 18 months, and the number of shares purchased was 200, then what was the capital gain per share?If you purchase a particular stock for ₹150 per share and sell it for ₹210 per share after 18 months with 200 shares purchased, then what is your capital gain per share?
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Absolute Return: (210 − 150) ÷ 150 × 100 = 40%
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Annualised Return: roughly 29% per year, once the 18-month holding period is factored in
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Total Profit: (210 − 150) × 200 = ₹12,000
You can create your own exact example in the calculator above, and change the buy price, sell price, quantity or holding period to match your own trade — that's why an online calculator is much more handy than a one-off calculation done in a calculator.
Benefits of Using This Calculator
Key Advantages
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Absolute and annualised returns in one result.
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Match trades with strikingly different tenures, at a level playing field.
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Find profit or loss of any number of shares when actual profit/loss is given.
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Available 100% free, available on mobile and desktop, no sign up required.
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Eliminates human calculation mistakes and time when dealing with repeated scenarios.
Since the price, quantity and holding period are all constantly calculated and updated, the calculator is also a learning instrument: it allows you to develop an intuitive understanding of how each of these variables affects your return, and that will come in handy the next time you're analyzing a trade without a calculator handy.
Things to Keep in Mind
This calculator displays a gross return, not the take-home return as it is further reduced by brokerage, Securities Transaction Tax (STT) and capital gains tax, which have a significant impact on short-term returns. Recognize it as an educated guess and not exactly what it is, as it will ultimately rely entirely on what you think the buy price will be, the sell price, and the holding period. Rules and charges for markets, and even the tax rules themselves, change over time, and when you have major capital issues or tax considerations, it's best to verify the rules and get advice from a qualified financial advisor before making any decisions.
Please note: The Stock Return Calculator is for information and education only and not meant to provide investment, tax or financial advice.