Holding Period Return Calculator
Measure the total return on an investment over exactly the time you held it, then annualise it to compare against other opportunities.
How it works
HPR = (end value − begin value + income) ÷ begin value × 100 · Annualised = (1 + HPR)^(1 ÷ years) − 1
Holding period return is the single most honest measure of how an investment did while you owned it: total gain, including income, over the money you put in. Because different investments are held for different lengths of time, the annualised figure restates that total as a steady yearly rate so a 30% gain over three years can be compared fairly with a 12% gain over one year.
Worked example
You bought at $10,000, sold at $13,000, and collected $500 of dividends along the way, holding for 3 years. HPR = (13,000 − 10,000 + 500) ÷ 10,000 = 35%. Annualised, that is (1.35)^(1/3) − 1 ≈ 10.5% per year.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as income in holding period return?
Any cash the investment paid you while you held it: dividends from stocks, interest from bonds, or distributions from a fund. It is added to the price change because it is part of what you earned.
Why annualise the return?
A raw holding period return mixes together how much you earned with how long it took. Annualising strips out the time so you can line up investments held for one year, three years or ten on the same yearly scale.
Is holding period return the same as CAGR?
The annualised version is essentially CAGR when there are no cash flows in between. CAGR calculators focus on the yearly rate; this one shows the total return and the annualised rate side by side.
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Educational estimate, not investment advice. Past returns do not predict future results.