Stock Return Five Years Formula in Excel

Get a clear view of your investment’s five-year performance with the “Stock Return Five Years” formula in Excel, powered by MarketXLS. This function retrieves and calculates the total or price return for a specified symbol over a rolling five-year period, helping you make informed decisions in your portfolio management.

Understanding Stock Return Five Years

• Purpose: Use this formula to quickly measure how much a stock or index has appreciated (or depreciated) over the past five years.
• Key Benefits:
  • Offers daily-updated returns around 5PM EST
  • Supports various return types such as “total” or “price”
  • Simplifies historical performance tracking without manual date inputs
• When to Use:
  • Assessing long-term growth potential before making buy or sell decisions
  • Comparing multiple holdings over the same period

Syntax and Parameters

=StockReturnFiveYears(Symbol, [TypeOfReturn])

Return Value:
Returns a numeric value based on the chosen return type. For example, if TypeOfReturn is “return” or “total”, it provides a percentage (e.g., 0.35 indicating a 35% growth). If an invalid symbol is entered or an error occurs, the function returns "NA".

?? Note: This function relies on MarketXLS data. Ensure you have a valid MarketXLS subscription and your symbol is correct.

Examples and Usage

Below are some practical ways to use StockReturnFiveYears in Excel:

1. Basic Total Return

   =StockReturnFiveYears("MSFT")

   Retrieves the default five-year return for Microsoft (MSFT). By default, this is often interpreted as “total” or “return.”

2. Price Return on an Index

   =StockReturnFiveYears("^SPX","price")

   Shows the pure price percentage change of the S&P 500 index (^SPX) over five years.

3. Absolute Change for Crypto

   =StockReturnFiveYears("BTCUSD:DEFAULT","change")

   Returns the absolute change in Bitcoin’s price (BTCUSD) over the past five years.

4. Using Cell References for Symbol
   If cell A1 contains "MSFT":

   =StockReturnFiveYears(A1)

   This makes your formulas easily adaptable for different symbols.

? Pro Tip: Because the function automatically calculates returns from (today minus five years) to the most recent market close, there’s no need to enter date parameters.

Common Questions

1. Why does the function return “NA” sometimes?

• This often occurs if an invalid symbol is provided or if your MarketXLS subscription is not active. Double-check the ticker and ensure your MarketXLS add-in is functioning correctly.

2. How is “total” return different from “price” return?

• “Total” return typically includes factors like dividends (if available) and price appreciation. “Price” return reflects only the difference in the share price over five years.

3. Does this function handle different date formats?

• No date input is required. The function automatically calculates returns based on a rolling five-year window (current date - 5 years). It does not accept direct date parameters.

4. Are there performance concerns with large data sets?

• MarketXLS caches results to optimize performance. However, frequent recalculations or usage in very large spreadsheets could slow Excel. Consider using manual calculation or caching strategies if performance is an issue.

5. How often is the data updated?

• Data is updated daily around 5PM EST, ensuring you get near real-time accuracy for five-year performance metrics.