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The Global Insight

What is the formula for calculating return?

Author

Robert Miller

Updated on February 09, 2026

You may calculate the return on investment using the formula: ROI = Net Profit / Cost of the investment * 100 If you are an investor, the ROI shows you the profitability of your investments.

How do you calculate return on performance?

The basic rate of return takes the gain for the portfolio and divides by the (original) investment amount. If there are no flows to a portfolio, then you simply take the Ending Value (EV) and subtract the Beginning Value (BV) to get the gain (or loss), and then divide by that starting value.

What is the ratio of returns to cost?

ROI tries to directly measure the amount of return on a particular investment, relative to the investment’s cost. To calculate ROI, the benefit (or return) of an investment is divided by the cost of the investment. The result is expressed as a percentage or a ratio.

How do you calculate performance?

Divide the gain or loss by the original price of the investment to calculate the performance expressed as a decimal. In this example, you would divide -$200 by $1,500 to get -0.1333.

How do you calculate monthly performance?

Take the ending balance, and either add back net withdrawals or subtract out net deposits during the period. Then divide the result by the starting balance at the beginning of the month. Subtract 1 and multiply by 100, and you’ll have the percentage gain or loss that corresponds to your monthly return.

What is OEE calculation?

OEE takes into account all losses, resulting in a measure of truly productive manufacturing time. It is calculated as: OEE = Availability × Performance × Quality.

How do you calculate the rate of return?

Finally, you simply divide the annual net profit by the initial cost of the asset or investment. The calculation will show a decimal, so multiply the result by 100 to see the percentage return. If you’re not comfortable working this out for yourself, you can use an ARR calculator online to be extra sure that your figures are correct.

How are total returns and net returns calculated?

To calculate net returns, total returns and total costs must be considered. Total returns for a stock result from capital gains and dividends. Total costs would include the initial purchase price as well as any commissions paid. In the above calculation, the gross capital gain (before commissions) from this trade is ($12.50 – $10.00) x 1,000.

Which is the formula for the overall return?

The formula for the overall return is (ending value – beginning value) / beginning value. In this formula, the beginning value is what your portfolio was worth when you invested, or how much you put into an investment.

How to calculate the daily return of an investment?

You can also use “365” instead of “1” to calculate the daily return of an investment. The “N” in this formula represents the number of periods that are being measured. For example, if you want to calculate the annualized return of an investment over a period of five years, you would use “5” for the “N” value.