Long-term dividend yield.

Yield on Cost (YoC) calculator measures dividend income vs original purchase price - showing the power of dividend growth investing. Bought stock at 20, now pays 2 dividend = 10% YoC. Compare to current yield (2/current price) - YoC almost always higher for long-term holders. Coca-Cola long-term holders: 50%+ YoC after 30 years.

Example: bought 1,000 shares at 20 in 2010 (cost 20,000). Today company pays 2 annual dividend per share. Annual dividend income: 2,000. Yield on Cost = 2,000 / 20,000 = 10%. Even if current share price is 50 (current yield = 2/50 = 4%), YoC remains 10% based on what you actually paid. Power of dividend growth + holding period.

Famous YoC examples: Warren Buffett's 1988 Coca-Cola purchase: cost basis ~3.25/share. Coca-Cola now pays ~1.60 dividend = 49% YoC. Same Buffett's Express 1991 purchase: ~50% YoC today. Long-term dividend growth investors achieve 20-50% YoC after 20-30 years - most retail investors don't hold long enough to enjoy this. Patience compounds - dividend aristocrats (25+ years of dividend increases) deliver life-changing YoC for early holders.

Quick example

With current annual dividend of 2,000 and original cost basis of 20,000, the result is 10.00%. Change any figure and watch the output shift — it's often more useful to see the pattern than to memorise the formula.

Which inputs matter most

You enter Current Annual Dividend and Original Cost Basis. Frequency and unit price pull the total in different directions. The biggest surprise for most people is how small recurring amounts compound into large annual figures — that's where this calculation earns its keep.

What's happening under the hood

Yield on cost = annual dividend / original cost basis × 100. The formula is listed in full below. If the number looks off, you can retrace the calculation by hand — that's the point of showing the working.

Using this well

Treat the output as one point on a wider map. Run it three times — a pessimistic case, a central case, and a stretch case — and plan against the pessimistic one. That habit alone separates people who stick with an investment plan from those who bail at the first wobble.

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. Treat the number as one scenario, not a forecast.