Stock Return Year To Date Formula in Excel

The Stock Return Year To Date formula in Excel (provided by MarketXLS) lets you quickly calculate the year-to-date performance of a specified symbol. This convenient Excel function helps investors and analysts track returns for equities, indices, crypto, and more—directly from their spreadsheets.

Understanding Stock Return Year To Date

• Purpose: Retrieves a ticker’s YTD return based on historical price data from MarketXLS.
• Key Benefits:
  • Eliminates manual YTD return calculations.
  • Supports multiple types of returns (price, total, etc.).
  • Integrates seamlessly with broader portfolio analysis in Excel.
• When to Use: Use StockReturnYTD to measure performance from the last trading day of the previous year up to the current date, ensuring real-time insight into how an investment is performing year-to-date.

Syntax and Parameters

=StockReturnYTD(Symbol, [TypeOfReturn])

?? Note: If an invalid symbol is provided or there is an internal error, the function returns "NA".

Return Value

• Returns the YTD return as a numeric value (often displayed by Excel as a decimal).
• A positive result indicates a gain; a negative value indicates a loss.

Special Cases & Performance Considerations

• The function automatically computes the date range from the last market day of the previous year to today.
• Large or infrequently traded symbols may cause slight performance delays.
• For extended historical data (older than 11 years), results may be limited.

Examples and Usage

Basic Examples

1. Retrieve the default (total) YTD return for Microsoft (MSFT):

   =StockReturnYTD("MSFT")

2. Retrieve the price return for SPX index:

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

3. Use cell references for the symbol:

   =StockReturnYTD(A1)

   Where cell A1 might contain "MSFT".

Advanced Examples

• For options symbols:

  =StockReturnYTD("@MSFT 110122C00020000","total")

• For crypto symbols:

  =StockReturnYTD("BTCUSD:DEFAULT","price")

• Retrieve price change percentage since the start of the year:

  =StockReturnYTD("MSFT","changepercent")

? Pro Tip: Combine StockReturnYTD with other MarketXLS formulas (like dividends or volume) to get deeper insights into your portfolio’s performance.

Common Questions

1. What if I want monthly or quarterly returns?
   Use other MarketXLS functions—like StockReturn30D or StockReturnQTD—to calculate shorter or different period returns.
2. Why do I see "NA"?
   This message appears if the symbol is invalid, the data is unavailable, or there’s a licensing issue with MarketXLS.
3. How do I handle date inputs?
   The StockReturnYTD function is specifically for year-to-date calculations, so you don’t need to provide dates. MarketXLS automatically sets the date range to start at the last trading day of the previous year.
4. What is the difference between "price" and "total" return?
   • Price Return ignores dividends.
   • Total Return includes dividends, splits, and other corporate actions.

?? Note: For a broader time horizon or different metrics (e.g., 7-day, 30-day returns), use the respective MarketXLS functions designed for those intervals.