Dividend Capture Return Calculator

How it works

Net profit = shares × dividend + shares × (sell − buy) · Return = net profit ÷ cost · Annualized = return × 365 ÷ days

Dividend capture means buying a stock just before its ex-dividend date to collect the payout, then selling shortly after. The catch is that a stock's price typically drops by roughly the dividend amount on the ex-date, so the dividend and the price drop tend to cancel out — before you even account for trading costs and taxes. This calculator lets you enter your actual sell price to see whether the trade truly netted a gain, and the qualified-dividend holding period usually is not met, so the dividend is taxed at ordinary rates.

Worked example

Buying 500 shares at $60 costs $30,000. You collect a $0.90 dividend ($450) but the stock opens ex-dividend at $59.40, a $0.60 drop, or −$300. Net profit is 450 − 300 = $150, a 0.5% return over 3 days — about 60.8% annualized, though taxes and slippage eat into it.

Frequently asked questions