Enter any stock or ETF, an amount, and a date. See exactly what your investment would be worth today — with real historical data.
A stock return calculator shows you what a past investment would be worth today using real historical price data. Instead of guessing, you can see the exact dollar amount, percentage return, and compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for any stock, ETF, or crypto over any time period. This is sometimes called a "What if I invested?" calculator.
Enter any stock ticker (like AAPL for Apple or VOO for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF), the dollar amount you want to simulate investing, and a start date. The calculator fetches real adjusted closing prices — which account for dividends and stock splits — and computes your total return, CAGR, and how the investment compares to the S&P 500 over the same period. You can use the quick example buttons to instantly see results for popular stocks.
CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is the average yearly return that, if compounded, would take your initial investment to its final value. It smooths out the volatility and gives you a single number to compare across different investments and time periods.
Adjusted close prices account for dividends, stock splits, and corporate actions. This means the returns shown include dividend reinvestment, giving you a more accurate picture than raw price-only returns.
S&P 500 comparison helps you understand whether a stock outperformed or underperformed the broad market. Beating the S&P 500 consistently is extremely difficult — most professional fund managers fail to do it over long periods.
Yes. The calculator uses adjusted closing prices, which automatically include dividends that were reinvested. This gives you the total return, not just the price return.
It means the stock you selected returned more than the S&P 500 index over the same time period. The S&P 500 is commonly used as a benchmark because it represents the 500 largest US companies and returns roughly 10% per year historically.
No. This calculator shows historical performance only. Past returns do not guarantee future results. Use it to understand what happened, not to predict what will happen. For forward-looking projections, try our Portfolio Builder which uses Monte Carlo simulation.
CAGR stands for Compound Annual Growth Rate. It is the average annual return that smooths out year-to-year volatility. A stock might be up 40% one year and down 20% the next, but CAGR gives you one number representing the steady growth rate that would produce the same final result. It is the best way to compare returns across different time periods and investments.
No. The returns shown are before taxes and trading fees. Your actual returns would be lower depending on your tax bracket, capital gains rates, and brokerage fees. Consult a tax professional for personalised advice.