Stock Return Three Years Formula in Excel

Use the Stock Return Three Years formula in Excel with MarketXLS to quickly calculate a stock's performance over a three-year period. This powerful function pulls data through the MarketXLS database and automatically calculates either the total return or price return for a given symbol.

Understanding Stock Return Three Years

• Purpose and Use Cases
  The StockReturnThreeYears function helps you measure the three-year performance of a given stock, index, or even crypto asset. It allows you to compare growth across multiple symbols, assisting in investment decision-making and portfolio analysis.

• Key Benefits

  • Automatically retrieves long-term performance data.
  • Offers flexibility with return types (total return or price return).
  • Ideal for comparing investment performance over a consistent time horizon.

• When to Use

  • Analyzing long-term stock performance for portfolio review.
  • Checking the three-year price return or total return (including dividends) for investment research.

Syntax and Parameters

=StockReturnThreeYears(symbol, [typeOfReturn])

• Return Value
  By default, the function returns a numeric value representing the three-year return percentage. If there is an issue retrieving data or if the symbol isn't recognized, the function returns "NA".

? Pro Tip: Use "total" for a total return calculation that may factor in dividends or adjustments. Use "price" to solely consider price movement.

?? Note: If the symbol is invalid or data is unavailable, StockReturnThreeYears will return "NA".

Examples and Usage

Below are some practical examples illustrating common usage scenarios:

1. Basic Example (Default Return)

   =StockReturnThreeYears("MSFT")

   • Returns the default three-year return percentage for Microsoft.

2. Three-Year Return for an Index

   =StockReturnThreeYears("^SPX")

   • Retrieves the three-year return for the S&P 500.

3. Option Symbol Example

   =StockReturnThreeYears("@MSFT 110122C00020000")

   • Calculates the three-year return for the specified Microsoft option contract.

4. Crypto Example

   =StockReturnThreeYears("BTCUSD:DEFAULT")

   • Returns the three-year return for Bitcoin.

5. Price Return Instead of Total

   =StockReturnThreeYears("MSFT","price")

   • Shows three-year price return for Microsoft, excluding dividends.

• Real-World Applications
  • Compare multiple stocks’ performance over a uniform three-year timeline.
  • Incorporate the results into dashboards or pivot tables for deeper market analysis.

Common Questions

1. Why am I getting "NA"?

   • An invalid symbol or lack of available data can result in "NA". Ensure the symbol is correct and the MarketXLS add-in is active.

2. How often is the data updated?

   • Typically updated daily around 5PM EST. Results capture changes in closing prices up to the previous day.

3. What if I only want price changes without dividends?

   • Use "price" as the typeOfReturn parameter to get the price return only.

4. Does it handle large lists of symbols efficiently?

   • Yes, but note that each call fetches external data. For large batches, performance can be impacted by API response times.

5. Can I use it in a VBA macro?

   • Absolutely. Insert the function into VBA code by referencing the cell formulas, or call it directly if the MarketXLS add-in is accessible to VBA.

?? Note: Always verify that your MarketXLS license is valid; otherwise, you may see "NA" results from this function.