Holding Period Return Calculator
Find the total return on an investment over the whole time you held it, then annualize it so you can compare holdings of different lengths. Enter your buy price, sell price, any dividends or interest, and how long you held it to see the holding period return, the capital gain and income split, your dollar profit, and the equivalent yearly rate.
Formula
Worked example
Buy at $1,000, sell at $1,200, collect $40 in dividends over 1 year: HPR = (1,200 - 1,000 + 40) / 1,000 = 240 / 1,000 = 24%. Over a single year the annualized rate is also 24%. Over 2 years it would be (1.24)^(1/2) - 1 = 11.36% per year.
What holding period return measures
Holding period return (HPR) is the total percentage return an investment earns over the entire time you own it, regardless of how long that is. It combines two sources of return: the capital gain or loss from the change in price, and any income such as dividends, coupon payments, or interest received while you held the asset. Because it captures both, HPR gives a fuller picture of performance than looking at price alone. This calculator breaks the result into its capital gain yield and income yield so you can see exactly where the return came from, and it can also report the total dollar profit once you enter how many shares you held.
Why you should annualize before comparing
Ignoring dividends and interest understates your real return; over long periods, reinvested income makes up a substantial portion of total stock-market gains. The bigger limitation of raw HPR is that it is not time-adjusted: a 24% return over three months is far better than 24% over three years. To compare holdings fairly you annualize, raising one plus the HPR to the power of one divided by the number of years held, then subtracting one. Enter the years and any extra months you held the position and this calculator does that geometric conversion for you, giving an equivalent yearly rate you can line up against savings rates, index returns, or other investments.
Reading the dollar profit and growth view
Percentages tell you the rate of return, but the dollar profit tells you the cash outcome. Set the share count to convert a per-share buy and sell price into the total profit on your position, which is the price change plus income, multiplied by the number of shares. The growth view then traces the smooth path an investment would follow if it compounded at your annualized rate from the starting value to the ending value, a useful sanity check on whether the yearly rate feels reasonable for the risk you took. All figures here are planning estimates: real results depend on fees, taxes, the timing of each dividend, and whether income was reinvested.
Same total return, different holding periods
| Total HPR | Years held | Annualized return | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24.0% | 0.25 (3 mo) | 131.6% | Excellent |
| 24.0% | 1 | 24.0% | Strong |
| 24.0% | 3 | 7.4% | Solid |
| 24.0% | 5 | 4.4% | Modest |
| 24.0% | 10 | 2.2% | Weak |
A 24% total HPR annualizes very differently depending on how long you held the asset.
Frequently asked questions
What is the formula for holding period return?
HPR = (ending value - beginning value + income) / beginning value, expressed as a percentage. The income term covers any dividends, coupons, or interest collected during the period. This is the same as adding the capital gain yield and the income (dividend) yield.
How do I annualize a holding period return?
Raise one plus the HPR (as a decimal) to the power of one divided by the number of years held, then subtract one. For example, a 24% return over 2 years annualizes to (1.24)^(1/2) - 1 = 11.36% per year. The calculator does this automatically once you enter the years and months you held the investment.
Does holding period return include dividends?
Yes. HPR is a total return measure, so it adds any dividends or interest received to the price change. Leaving out income would understate how much the investment actually earned you. The calculator shows the income yield separately so you can see its contribution.
Why is the annualized return lower than the total HPR?
Whenever you hold an investment for more than a year, the total return is spread across several years, so the equivalent yearly rate is smaller. Annualizing uses geometric compounding, which accounts for returns building on returns, so it is the fair way to compare investments held for different lengths of time.