Investment Return ROI Calculator

Holding period return

Add income received during the period to the final value, then subtract the initial cost and additional expenses. Divide this net profit by the initial cost to obtain ROI. For an initial cost of 1000, final value of 1200, income of 100 and costs of 50, net profit is 250 and return is 25 percent.

Limits

Final value means sale proceeds or market value at the end of the period. Income is not assumed to be reinvested. This return is not annualized, so avoid comparing investments with different durations directly. Use present value analysis when cash flow timing matters.

Distinguish gain from final value

Let initial cost be 2000, final value 1850, income during the period 300 and additional costs 100 currency units. Total proceeds are 1850 + 300 = 2150. Subtracting costs and initial investment gives net profit of 2150 − 100 − 2000 = 50. Period return is 100 × 50 / 2000 = 2.5 percent. The positive result represents a net gain. A final value below initial cost does not by itself imply an overall loss when income was received. This example does not predict investment performance.

Do not enter price appreciation alone as final value. If paid income is already included in final value, adding it again counts it twice. Similarly, including an expense in initial cost and entering it again as an additional expense deducts it twice. Compared records must use the same expense scope.

A zero nominal return does not establish preserved purchasing power. Inflation and tax require separate consideration. The tool does not ask for period length, so identical percentages over different durations do not have the same economic meaning. If capital additions or withdrawals during the period matter, use a method suited to dated cash flows rather than this simple initial cost denominator.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate ROI?

With an example initial cost 1000, final value 1200, income 100 and additional expenses 50 currency units, net investment gain is 250.00 and period ROI is 25 percent. This preliminary calculation subtracts initial cost and expenses from final value plus income, without annualising the return or accounting for cash flow timing and the time value of money.

Calculate with these values