One stock soared, another sank — so how did your whole portfolio do? Enter the value and return of each holding to get your true weighted average return, total value and total dollar gain.
Answer first: your portfolio's return is the weighted average of each holding's return — weighted by how much money sits in each. This portfolio return calculator multiplies every holding's value by its return, sums them, and divides by the total, so a large position counts far more than a small one. Then it shows the total dollar gain or loss across everything.
Portfolio return = Σ(Holding value × Holding return) ÷ Total value
Example: $6,000 up 10% and $4,000 down 5% gives ($600 − $200) ÷ $10,000 = +4.0%. The bigger winning position drags the whole portfolio into the green despite the loser.
This is where a lot of investors fool themselves. It's tempting to average the percentages — "+10% and −5%, so I'm up 2.5% on average." But that ignores position size entirely. A spectacular gain on a tiny stake barely moves the needle, while a modest loss on your largest holding can sink the whole portfolio. Weighting by dollars is the only way to see how you really did.
This is a point-in-time weighted return. It doesn't adjust for money you added or withdrew during the period — for that, professionals use time-weighted returns (which strip out the timing of your deposits) or money-weighted returns (which include it). It also says nothing about risk: two portfolios can post the same return while one took wild swings to get there. Read this alongside the Sharpe ratio and your overall asset allocation.
Reality check: This is a snapshot weighted return; it ignores mid-period deposits and withdrawals and says nothing about the risk taken. Use time- or money-weighted returns for precise performance. This is an educational calculator, not financial advice — verify your own numbers and see the U.S. SEC at investor.gov.
Pair it with the portfolio allocation tool, the portfolio rebalancing calculator, the annualized return calculator, and learn how to diversify a portfolio.
Last updated 25 June 2026 · Written by Mustafa Bilgic. Educational only — not financial advice.
It is your portfolio's overall return, with each holding counted in proportion to how much money you have in it. A big position's return moves the total far more than a small one's, so you cannot simply average the percentages — you weight them by dollar value.
Multiply each holding's value by its return, add those products together, then divide by the total portfolio value. Equivalently, multiply each holding's portfolio weight by its return and sum the results. The answer is the blended return of the whole portfolio.
Because a simple average ignores position size. A 50% gain on a tiny $100 position and a 5% loss on a large $10,000 position do not cancel out — the portfolio is down overall. Weighting by dollar value gives the true result.
No. This is a snapshot weighted return based on current values and each holding's stated return. If you added or withdrew money mid-period, a time-weighted or money-weighted return calculation gives a more precise figure.