Shares Return Calculator

Use this calculator to determine the total monetary and percentage return on your stock investment, taking into account purchase price, selling price, dividends, and brokerage fees.

Initial Investment Amount ($): Purchase Price Per Share ($): Selling Price Per Share ($): Total Dividends Received ($): Brokerage Fees (Buy) ($): Brokerage Fees (Sell) ($):

function calculateSharesReturn() { var initialInvestment = parseFloat(document.getElementById('initialInvestment').value); var purchasePrice = parseFloat(document.getElementById('purchasePrice').value); var sellingPrice = parseFloat(document.getElementById('sellingPrice').value); var totalDividends = parseFloat(document.getElementById('totalDividends').value); var buyFees = parseFloat(document.getElementById('buyFees').value); var sellFees = parseFloat(document.getElementById('sellFees').value); var resultDiv = document.getElementById('sharesReturnResult'); resultDiv.innerHTML = "; // Clear previous results if (isNaN(initialInvestment) || initialInvestment <= 0 || isNaN(purchasePrice) || purchasePrice <= 0 || isNaN(sellingPrice) || sellingPrice <= 0 || isNaN(totalDividends) || totalDividends < 0 || isNaN(buyFees) || buyFees < 0 || isNaN(sellFees) || sellFees < 0) { resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please enter valid positive numbers for all fields. Initial Investment, Purchase Price, and Selling Price must be greater than zero.'; return; } var numberOfShares = initialInvestment / purchasePrice; var totalCostOfPurchase = (numberOfShares * purchasePrice) + buyFees; var totalProceedsFromSale = (numberOfShares * sellingPrice) – sellFees; var netProfitLoss = totalProceedsFromSale – totalCostOfPurchase + totalDividends; var percentageReturn = (netProfitLoss / totalCostOfPurchase) * 100; var resultHTML = '

Calculation Results:

'; resultHTML += 'Number of Shares Purchased: ' + numberOfShares.toFixed(2) + ''; resultHTML += 'Total Cost of Purchase (including fees): $' + totalCostOfPurchase.toFixed(2) + ''; resultHTML += 'Total Proceeds from Sale (after fees): $' + totalProceedsFromSale.toFixed(2) + ''; resultHTML += 'Net Profit/Loss: $' + netProfitLoss.toFixed(2) + ''; resultHTML += 'Percentage Return: ' + percentageReturn.toFixed(2) + '%'; resultDiv.innerHTML = resultHTML; } .shares-return-calculator { font-family: 'Segoe UI', Tahoma, Geneva, Verdana, sans-serif; background-color: #f9f9f9; padding: 25px; border-radius: 10px; box-shadow: 0 4px 12px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); max-width: 600px; margin: 20px auto; border: 1px solid #e0e0e0; } .shares-return-calculator h2 { color: #2c3e50; text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px; font-size: 1.8em; } .shares-return-calculator p { color: #34495e; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 15px; } .calculator-form label { display: block; margin-bottom: 8px; color: #34495e; font-weight: bold; } .calculator-form input[type="number"] { width: calc(100% – 22px); padding: 10px; margin-bottom: 15px; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 5px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 1em; } .calculator-form button { background-color: #28a745; color: white; padding: 12px 20px; border: none; border-radius: 5px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 1.1em; width: 100%; transition: background-color 0.3s ease; } .calculator-form button:hover { background-color: #218838; } .calculator-result { margin-top: 25px; padding: 20px; background-color: #e9f7ef; border: 1px solid #d4edda; border-radius: 8px; color: #155724; } .calculator-result h3 { color: #155724; margin-top: 0; font-size: 1.5em; border-bottom: 1px solid #d4edda; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-bottom: 15px; } .calculator-result p { margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: 1.1em; } .calculator-result p strong { color: #0f5132; }

Understanding Your Shares Return

Investing in shares (stocks) is a popular way to grow wealth, but understanding your actual return is crucial. A shares return calculator helps you quantify the profitability of your investment by considering all relevant factors, not just the simple difference between buying and selling prices.

Key Components of Shares Return:

Initial Investment Amount: This is the total capital you initially allocated to purchase the shares.
Purchase Price Per Share: The price at which you bought each individual share.
Selling Price Per Share: The price at which you sold each individual share.
Total Dividends Received: Many companies distribute a portion of their earnings to shareholders in the form of dividends. These cash payments significantly contribute to your overall return and should always be included in your calculations.
Brokerage Fees (Buy & Sell): These are the transaction costs charged by your broker for executing buy and sell orders. While they might seem small, they can eat into your profits, especially for smaller investments or frequent trading.

How the Calculator Works:

The calculator first determines the number of shares you purchased based on your initial investment and the purchase price per share. Then, it calculates the total cost of your investment, including the initial purchase price and any brokerage fees incurred during the buying process. Similarly, it calculates the total proceeds from selling your shares, subtracting any selling fees. Finally, it adds any dividends received to your net profit/loss to give you the true monetary gain or loss, and then expresses this as a percentage of your total initial cost.

Why is this important?

A comprehensive return calculation provides a clear picture of your investment's performance. It helps you:

Evaluate the success of your investment strategies.
Compare the performance of different stocks or investment vehicles.
Understand the real impact of transaction costs and dividends on your bottom line.
Make informed decisions about future investments.

Example Scenario:

Let's say you invested $5,000 in a company's shares. You bought them at $25 per share and later sold them at $30 per share. During the period you held the shares, you received $100 in dividends. Your broker charged $8 for the buy transaction and $8 for the sell transaction.

Initial Investment: $5,000
Purchase Price Per Share: $25
Selling Price Per Share: $30
Total Dividends Received: $100
Brokerage Fees (Buy): $8
Brokerage Fees (Sell): $8

Using the calculator:

Number of Shares: $5,000 / $25 = 200 shares
Total Cost of Purchase: (200 shares * $25) + $8 = $5,008
Total Proceeds from Sale: (200 shares * $30) – $8 = $5,992
Net Profit/Loss: $5,992 – $5,008 + $100 = $1,084
Percentage Return: ($1,084 / $5,008) * 100 = 21.65%

This example clearly shows how dividends and fees impact the final return, providing a more accurate assessment than just looking at the share price difference.