# Price Return vs. Total Return: Where Dividends Fit > Compare share-price changes with returns that include dividends. See a simple example, reinvestment assumptions, and how MarketCapLens charts are labeled. Source: MarketCapLens — https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/price-return-vs-total-return Published: 2026-11-11 Updated: 2026-11-11 **Price return** measures how much an investment’s price changes. **Total return** also counts income, such as dividends. A share-price chart can therefore show a different result from the return earned by someone who held the shares and received dividends. **Key takeaways** - Price return leaves out dividends; total return includes investment income. - Use the same dates and assumptions when comparing two returns. - A total-return series may assume dividends are reinvested, rather than held as cash. - Deposits, withdrawals, fees, and taxes need separate treatment. ## How price return is calculated > **Price return = (ending price − starting price) ÷ starting price × 100** For an illustrative one-year holding, suppose you buy one share for $100 and its price ends the year at $105. The price gain is $5. Divide $5 by the $100 starting price: the price return is **5%**. This describes the share price over that year, before fees and taxes. The starting price must be greater than zero. Compare prices on the same split-adjusted basis so a stock split does not appear as an investment loss. ## How dividends change the result For a single holding period, with dividends kept as cash and no other money added or withdrawn: > **Total return = (ending price − starting price + cash dividends) ÷ starting price × 100** Keep the same $100 starting price and $105 ending price. Now assume the share also pays $3 per share in cash dividends during that same year. The holder finishes with a share worth $105 and $3 in cash, or $108 in total. The $8 gain on the original $100 is an **8% total return**, before fees and taxes. The price return is still 5%. The dividend adds another $3 of income in this example; it does not change which price observations the price-return formula uses. If the share instead ended at $95, the $3 cash dividend would reduce the total loss to $2, a **−2% total return**. Income does not necessarily prevent a loss. ## Reinvested dividends need a different calculation A published total-return series often assumes dividends buy additional shares when they are paid. Those extra shares then participate in later price changes and may earn further dividends. That result depends on payment dates and reinvestment prices, not just the final price and a sum of dividends. The simple formula above assumes dividends remain as cash without earning a further return. It is not a shortcut for a reinvested-dividend history. See [how dividend reinvestment works](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/what-is-drip) for an illustration of how reinvestment can change an outcome. Check the assumptions of the particular chart or provider before comparing it with another return series. ## Which return does MarketCapLens show? The [Featured stock comparisons](https://www.marketcaplens.com/featured) label their performance lines as share-price changes excluding dividends. For example, the [Magnificent 7 price-performance charts](https://www.marketcaplens.com/magnificent-7-stocks) compare price paths; they do not show what a dividend-reinvesting portfolio would have earned. A company’s market-cap growth is another measure. It can change when the number of shares changes, so it is not the same as either a share-price return or a portfolio return. The [ranking methodology](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/how-the-ranking-works) explains the figures and their history limits. ## What else should you check? Compare the same dates, currency, and dividend assumptions. Check whether fees and taxes have been subtracted. Do not add dividends to a series that already includes them. Money you add to an account is not investment profit. If you make deposits or withdrawals, see [dated cash flows and XIRR](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/what-is-xirr). To describe the yearly pace of a single starting investment, see [annualized growth and CAGR](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/what-is-cagr). To ask what the result can buy after prices rise, see [nominal and inflation-adjusted returns](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/nominal-vs-real-returns). For general education only. Nothing here is investment advice. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the difference between price return and total return? Price return measures the change in price. Total return also includes investment income, such as dividends. Over one year, a share bought for $100 and ending at $105 has a 5% price return. With $3 in dividends kept as cash, its total return is 8%, before fees and taxes. ### Does total return always assume dividends are reinvested? Many published total-return series assume reinvestment, but you should check the provider’s method. A calculation that keeps dividends as cash can produce a different result because reinvested dividends buy additional shares at particular prices. ### Do MarketCapLens Featured performance charts include dividends? No. The Featured comparison pages label their performance lines as share-price changes excluding dividends. Market-cap growth is a separate company-size measure and is not a portfolio return. ## Sources - [FINRA: investment income, return, and expenses](https://syndication.finra.org/content/key-concepts-return-and-rate-return) - [Vanguard: price changes, income, and portfolio performance](https://investor.vanguard.com/investor-resources-education/portfolio-management/performance-details) References explain the concepts; MarketCapLens supplies the examples and calculator assumptions. See https://www.marketcaplens.com/about for who checks the numbers. ## Related guides - [What is DRIP?](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/what-is-drip) - [What is CAGR?](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/what-is-cagr) - [Nominal vs. real returns](https://www.marketcaplens.com/learn/nominal-vs-real-returns)