Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in AMAT means investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of share price. This strategy reduces timing risk and builds wealth steadily through market ups and downs.
How This Calculator Works
Our DCA calculator simulates real market conditions using historical price data. It accounts for dividend reinvestment (DRIP), where each dividend payment automatically purchases additional shares. You can adjust the investment amount, frequency, time period, and compare against benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100.
Same amount invested each month — only the day of purchase changes. How much does intra-month timing actually matter?
Best Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly low
Total Return+347.0%
Final Value$214.5K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+325.1%
Final Value$204.0K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+300.3%
Final Value$192.2K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap46.6 pp
Your timing vs best-21.9%
Your timing vs worst+24.8%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 25.6%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$26K~1.4x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$55K~1.8x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$229K~3.8x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$2.5M~20.6x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.4x your money
5 Years~1.8x your money
10 Years~3.8x your money
20 Years~20.6x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$2K est. gain
$11K+$5K est. gain
$46K+$34K est. gain
$496K+$472K est. gain
$250/mo
$13K+$4K est. gain
$28K+$13K est. gain
$115K+$85K est. gain
$1.2M+$1.2M est. gain
$500/mo
$26K+$8K est. gain
$55K+$25K est. gain
$229K+$169K est. gain
$2.5M+$2.4M est. gain
$1,000/mo
$51K+$15K est. gain
$111K+$51K est. gain
$459K+$339K est. gain
$5.0M+$4.7M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 25.6% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$62.20
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$59.72
$10,500
$10,101
-3.80%
$-399
Mar 2, 2020
$60.16
$11,000
$10,709
-2.65%
$-291
Apr 2, 2020
$43.24
$11,500
$8,197
-28.72%
$-3,303
May 4, 2020
$47.58
$12,000
$9,519
-20.67%
$-2,481
Jun 2, 2020
$55.79
$12,500
$11,705
-6.36%
$-795
Jul 2, 2020
$61.00
$13,000
$13,298
+2.29%
$298
Aug 3, 2020
$65.01
$13,500
$14,673
+8.69%
$1,173
Sep 2, 2020
$65.08
$14,000
$15,237
+8.84%
$1,237
Oct 2, 2020
$58.21
$14,500
$14,129
-2.56%
$-371
Nov 2, 2020
$60.33
$15,000
$15,143
+0.96%
$143
Dec 2, 2020
$85.29
$15,500
$21,971
+41.75%
$6,471
Jan 4, 2021
$86.87
$16,000
$22,878
+42.99%
$6,878
Feb 2, 2021
$103.59
$16,500
$27,781
+68.37%
$11,281
Mar 2, 2021
$117.50
$17,000
$32,068
+88.64%
$15,068
Apr 5, 2021
$143.05
$17,500
$39,541
+125.95%
$22,041
May 3, 2021
$132.85
$18,000
$37,222
+106.79%
$19,222
Jun 2, 2021
$139.01
$18,500
$39,516
+113.60%
$21,016
Jul 2, 2021
$138.16
$19,000
$39,774
+109.34%
$20,774
Aug 2, 2021
$142.01
$19,500
$41,383
+112.22%
$21,883
Sep 2, 2021
$134.45
$20,000
$39,750
+98.75%
$19,750
Oct 4, 2021
$125.20
$20,500
$37,516
+83.00%
$17,016
Nov 2, 2021
$141.21
$21,000
$42,813
+103.87%
$21,813
Dec 2, 2021
$146.49
$21,500
$44,985
+109.23%
$23,485
Jan 3, 2022
$159.93
$22,000
$49,613
+125.51%
$27,613
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in AMAT
Investing $500 per month in Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $204K today. That's +325.1% total return on $48K invested, with a +25.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). This includes $3K from reinvested dividends.