Yield on Cost Tracker Calculator

Yield on Cost measures dividend return based on original purchase price, not current market price. Enter ticker, shares owned, purchase price per share, current price, annual dividend per share, and expected dividend growth rate. The tracker computes yield on cost, current yield, yield advantage, annual dividend income, and projected yield on cost at five and ten years assuming constant growth. Example: one hundred shares bought at fifty dollars with two dollars forty annual dividend today produces four point eight percent yield on cost even when current yield at one hundred twenty dollars is only two percent. Long term dividend investors track yield on cost because it shows income productivity of legacy capital independent of market quotes. Yield on cost ignores unrealized capital gains: a stock up two hundred percent with five percent yield on cost still delivered excellent total return even if current yield looks modest to new buyers. If you bought 100 shares at $50 and the stock now pays $2.40 annually, your yield on cost is 4.8% even if the current yield at $120 is only 2%. Enter purchase price, current price, and dividend to see both metrics.

Compare yield on cost against current yield to see how much your legacy basis outearns new money at today's price. Yield advantage equals yield on cost minus current yield and widens as price appreciates with flat dividend dollars. Projection rows compound dividend growth forward: five percent growth on a three percent starting yield on cost reaches roughly three point eight percent in five years and four point nine percent in ten years on unchanged cost basis. Dividend aristocrats with twenty five plus years of increases are popular yield on cost compounders. Verify payout ratio stays below sixty percent for sustainability when modeling aggressive growth assumptions. Pair with Dividend Tax Comparator for after tax income, Ex Dividend Calendar for payment timing, and Compound Interest Comparator to model reinvested dividends alongside price appreciation. Dividend growth investors track YOC over decades. A 3% starting yield with 8% annual dividend growth reaches roughly 6.6% YOC in ten years on unchanged cost basis.

The gap between yield on cost and current yield widens as share prices rise while your cost basis stays fixed. Track your positions quarterly with this free calculator to see decades of dividend compounding at work. A stock bought at fifty dollars paying two forty annually today yields four point eight percent on cost even if the price doubles to one hundred giving new buyers a sleepy two percent current yield.

Use Yield on Cost Tracker whenever inputs change: after market moves, new contributions, or revised personal assumptions. Bookmark the page for quick reruns without installing software.

Example scenario for Yield on Cost Tracker: $50, $2, 4.8%. Enter those values above to reproduce the walkthrough described in How it works.

Adjust one input at a time to see sensitivity. Yield on Cost Tracker updates instantly so you can stress test optimistic and conservative assumptions before acting.

Reach for Yield on Cost Tracker when calculate your real dividend yield based on your original purchase price. see how dividend growth compounds your yield on cost over time.. It suits quick what if analysis before trades, allocation changes, or plan updates.

Pair with related tools when the decision spans taxes, liquidity, or multi year projections beyond what one formula captures.

Copying outputs without checking input units or stale market prices is a frequent error with Yield on Cost Tracker. Confirm tickers, percentages, and dates before acting.

Running a single baseline scenario ignores tail risks. Stress test with conservative inputs and compare against related tools listed below when the decision is material.

Calculations assume dividends continue and shares are held at stated purchase price. Projected dividends compound growth rate annually. Special dividends and spinoffs affect per share amounts and are not modeled separately. Reinvestment of dividends into new shares raises share count but this tool holds shares constant unless you update inputs. Assumes dividends continue and shares are held. Special dividends and spinoffs affect per share amounts. Yield on Cost Tracker does not replace personalized advice. Fees, slippage, account specific rules, and behavioral constraints may change real world outcomes.

Pair with Dividend Tax Comparator for after tax dividend income, Compound Interest Comparator for reinvested dividend modeling, and Ex Dividend Calendar for payment timing on portfolios. Use those calculators when yield on cost tracker alone does not capture the full decision.

Internal links on portfolios.tools help you chain calculators: run Yield on Cost Tracker first, then validate edge cases with a specialized tool from the related section below.