Compare the 10-year performance and dividend income and total return of two best performing stocks in the TECH field (as well as broader market): Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT).

AAPL's latest dividend payment is $0.25, a yield of 0.39%, and a total payout of $2,940. Conversely, MSFT's latest dividend is $0.83, with a yield of 0.76%, amounting to $4,810 in dividends paid.

Here are 10-year total returns of these two companies:

AAPL total return with dividends reinvested: 911.8%
MSFT total return with dividends reinvested: 959.1%

Compare Earnings, Free Cash Flow, Dividend Payout Retios and other metrics for AAPL vs MSFT.

10 years returns for AAPL & MSFT - dividends, price growth and total returns:

Stats below compares the performance of a $10,000 investment into each company 10 years ago, with dividends being aoutomatically reinvested (DRIP) on the payout day, with no additional investments.

Here is a chart comparing the 10-year total returns in of AAPL and MSFT, shown side-by-side. These total return figures take into account dividend reinvestment and represent the value of all shares owned at each respective point in time.

Estimate Dividend Snowball and total future returns for AAPL and MSFT with our dividend (DRIP) calculator.

Here are 10 year price charts for AAPL & MSFT:

In the span of 10 years, the price of AAPL surged by 801%, climbing from $28.24 to $254.49, which equates to a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.59%.

Similarly, over the same timeframe, MSFT experienced a price increase of 810%, escalating from $47.98 to $436.60, marking a CAGR of 24.71%.

Dividend payments and yield graphs for AAPL & MSFT:

For AAPL, the most recent dividend stands at $0.25, with a yield of 0.39%. The initial dividend was $0.24, and over the past 10 years, the total dividends paid amount to $2,940, demonstrating a dividend CAGR of 7.84%.

Similarly, MSFT's latest dividend is $0.83, yielding 0.76%. The first dividend was $0.75, and the cumulative dividends paid over the last decade total $4,810, reflecting a dividend CAGR of 8.71%.

Charts above show historic dividend payments for each company, Dividend Yield curve overlaying the payments as well as Dividend CAGR for last 1 year, 2 years, 5 years and 10 years. Dividend Yield curve helps visualize how expensive or cheap the stock was at the time of the dividend payments.

If overall yield-curve is going up, the stock is considered inexpensive, relative to its dividend. If curve is loping down, the stock is getting more expensive relative to its dividends.

Dividend CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) is how much the dividend is growing, averaged per year.

Based on AAPL's 10-year CAGR, it would take 9.18 years to double your dividend yield-on-cost.
For MSFT's and its 10-year CAGR, it would take 8.27 years to double your dividend yield-on-cost.

CAGR 72 Rule: Simply put - if your COMPOUND interest (or dividend) rate is 7% it will take roughly 10 years to double your investment. If your rate is 10%, it will take approximately 7 years to double the investment. Basically to know the interest/yield rate that you would need to earn to double your investment, take 72 and divide by number of years.

For example: You want to double your investment in 5 years. 72/5 years = 14.4%. That's the interest rate that you would need to double your portfolio value.

While most dividend companied do not offer anything near 14.4% dividned yield, the CAGR or dividend growth is where the magic happens. Unlike bonds and CDs, the dividend or "interest payment" of dividend-paying stocks usually goes up!

Caution: If a company is paying something like a 14.4% dividend - most likely it's a yield/value trap, and a dividend cut is coming soon.

Investing $10,000 in AAPL & MSFT today: Estimated Future Return & Dividends:

Reflecting on the performance of the past decade, AAPL achieved a share price compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.59%, accompanied by a dividend CAGR of 7.84%.

In the same timeframe, MSFT recorded a share price CAGR of 24.71%, along with a dividend CAGR of 8.71%.

How can a $10,000 investment perform based historic CAGR number:

If you invest $10000 today into one of these companies, and utilizing these CAGR figures, we can forecast the 10-year future performance of your initial, assuming dividends were continuously reinvested (DRIP), would have experienced growth and accumulated dividends as detailed below:

And here is how your $10,000 investment into Apple Inc. or Microsoft Corporation could perform based on CAGR figers above, represented on a graph - a Dividend DRIP Snowball:

Try our dividend DRIP calculator: AAPL or MSFT - estimate your returns and dividend income!

Using our dividend calculator, you can customize initial investment, projected Dividend & Price growth rate, additional investment amount and frequency, to fit your investing style and goals.

The figures presented above are projections based on the Dividend and Price CAGR for each stock, and they represent potential future returns. It's important to note that these calculations are made under the assumption of DRIP (Dividend Reinvestment Plan).

Please remember, these are only estimations, and actual returns may vary. We cannot guarantee that your actual returns will align precisely with these metrics.

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