Stock return calculator
Short answer
If you had invested in a stock years ago, what would it be worth today? Pick a US stock or ETF, the year you would have bought it and how much you would have put in. The calculator shows what that money would be worth now with every dividend reinvested, how many times it multiplied, the return per year, and what the same amount would have become in the S&P 500 over the same months.
IONQ started trading in January 2021
$1,000 invested then would be worth $2,647 today.
- Gain
- $1,647
- Multiple
- 2.6x
- Per year
- 18.2% a year
- S&P 500 (SPY)
- $2,205
It was not trading yet in 2016, so the money goes in at the end of its first month. The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 over the same months would be $2,205, 14.5% a year. Dividends reinvested, adjusted for splits, through October 2026. Taxes and fees are not included.
What $1,000 in popular stocks would be worth today
Each row is $1,000 put in during the first month of the year shown, with dividends reinvested, valued at the latest monthly close (October 2026).
| $1,000 in | From | Worth today | Per year | S&P 500, same months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | January 2010 | $59,994 | 27.5% a year | $9,453 |
| NVDA | January 2015 | $445,237 | 67.5% a year | $4,599 |
| AMZN | January 2010 | $38,330 | 24.2% a year | $9,453 |
| MSFT | January 2010 | $24,939 | 21.1% a year | $9,453 |
| TSLA | January 2015 | $29,456 | 33.1% a year | $4,599 |
| GOOGL | January 2015 | $10,511 | 22.0% a year | $4,599 |
| META | January 2015 | $8,179 | 19.4% a year | $4,599 |
| NFLX | January 2010 | $69,809 | 28.7% a year | $9,453 |
| SPY | January 2000 | $8,663 | 8.4% a year | - |
| QQQ | January 2000 | $9,146 | 8.6% a year | $8,663 |
How the number is worked out
The calculator takes the stock's monthly closing prices, adjusted for every split and dividend, and buys your amount at the first monthly close of the year you pick. It then values those shares at the latest monthly close. Because the prices are dividend-adjusted, the result is the same as reinvesting each dividend when it was paid. The return per year is the compound annual rate that turns your amount into the result over that time.
The S&P 500 comparison runs the same amount through SPY, the largest S&P 500 fund, over exactly the same months, so the two figures answer the same question. Prices come from Yahoo Finance and are refreshed daily.
What the result leaves out
Taxes, trading costs and fund fees are not included, and neither is inflation: $1,000 in 2010 bought more than $1,000 does today. The bigger blind spot is hindsight. The stocks people type in are the ones that worked; the ones that went to zero rarely come to mind, which is why a single stock's past return says little about what to own next. Comparing it with the S&P 500 over the same months is the fairer test.
What it paid in dividends
This calculator folds every dividend back into the stock. To see the dividends themselves, what a stock pays a year on your amount today and what it has paid out since a given year, use the dividend calculator.
See how what you own today is doing
The calculator answers a question about the past. For the stocks you hold now, Walnut connects the brokerage account you already have and checks every holding against the S&P 500. See what Walnut is or how to compare your portfolio to the S&P 500.
FAQ
Does this include dividends?
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Yes. It uses prices adjusted for dividends and splits, which is the same as reinvesting every dividend on the day it was paid. That is why a dividend payer such as SPY shows a much larger result than its share price alone suggests.
Which stocks does it cover?
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Stocks and ETFs listed in the US with a dollar price, back to 1985 where the history exists. A stock that listed after the year you pick starts in its first month of trading. Delisted companies are not covered.
Why is my result different from another calculator?
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Most calculators use the share price alone, which leaves out dividends, or the exact day you name. This one starts at the first monthly close of the year you pick and reinvests dividends, so it can differ by a few percent from a daily, price-only figure.
Are taxes and fees included?
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No. The result is before tax and before any trading or fund fees. In a taxable account, tax on dividends each year and on the gain when you sell would reduce what you keep.
Does a past return tell me what to buy now?
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No. It shows what happened, chosen with hindsight. Stocks that did well in one period often do not in the next, and the companies that failed are the ones nobody thinks to type in.
Past performance does not predict future returns. This calculator is for information only and is not investment advice.