Dell vs the S&P 500
Would you have done better buying Dell or just buying the market? Put the same amount into DELL and an S&P 500 fund over any dates and see who wins.
Did Dell beat the market?
Most professional fund managers fail to beat the S&P 500 over long periods, which is why "did it beat the index?" is the fairest test of any single stock. This calculator puts the same dollars into Dell (DELL) and an S&P 500 fund on the same day, sells both on the same day, and shows you the gap.
Try a few windows. A stock can trounce the market over five years and still trail it over one, or the other way round. Where you start and stop changes the answer more than most people expect.
Look at each one on its own
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Frequently asked questions
How do you measure the S&P 500? +
The S&P 500 side uses SPY, the oldest and most traded S&P 500 ETF, so both sides are priced the same way: real closing prices for the dates you pick.
Are dividends included? +
No. Both sides are price-only. Including dividends would usually help the S&P 500 side more than a low-yield growth stock, so keep that in mind if the result is close.
What does "annualized" mean? +
Annualized return (CAGR) is the steady yearly growth rate that would turn the starting amount into the final value over the same period. It makes different time spans comparable. It's only shown for periods of a year or more.
What if one of them wasn't trading on my start date? +
You'll get a message asking for a later start date. Both sides have to be priced over the same window for the comparison to be fair.
Does this tell me which to buy now? +
No. It shows what already happened, for education only. Past performance doesn't predict future returns and this isn't financial advice.
Let your AI agent run the comparison
Zentrix MCP connects Claude, GPT, and Gemini to live data on DELL, SPY, and the rest of the market.