Dollar cost averaging (DCA) in PANW 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+182.7%
Final Value$135.7K
Perfectly timed — impossible in practice
Your DCA
StrategyBuy on 1st of month
Total Return+169.2%
Final Value$129.2K
Consistent — no timing needed
Worst Timing DCA
StrategyBuy on monthly high
Total Return+155.5%
Final Value$122.6K
Worst possible — still beats not investing
Best vs Worst gap27.2 pp
Your timing vs best-13.6%
Your timing vs worst+13.7%
If You Keep Investing…
Based on this stock's historical CAGR of 16.9%/yr — put in vs. walk away with.
Your Plan
At $500/mo, this could grow into:
3 Years$23K~1.3x your moneyfrom $18K invested
5 Years$45K~1.5x your moneyfrom $30K invested
10 Years$144K~2.4x your moneyfrom $60K invested
20 Years$830K~6.9x your moneyfrom $120K invested
Compare Other Monthly Amounts
Same CAGR assumption. Use this to pressure-test different monthly commitments.
Monthly
3 Years~1.3x your money
5 Years~1.5x your money
10 Years~2.4x your money
20 Years~6.9x your money
$100/mo
$5K+$963 est. gain
$9K+$3K est. gain
$29K+$17K est. gain
$166K+$142K est. gain
$250/mo
$11K+$2K est. gain
$23K+$8K est. gain
$72K+$42K est. gain
$415K+$355K est. gain
$500/mo
$23K+$5K est. gain
$45K+$15K est. gain
$144K+$84K est. gain
$830K+$710K est. gain
$1,000/mo
$46K+$10K est. gain
$90K+$30K est. gain
$288K+$168K est. gain
$1.7M+$1.4M est. gain
* Projection assumes historical CAGR of 16.9% continues. Actual returns will vary.
Your DCA Results by Date
77 purchases
Date
Price
Invested
Portfolio Value
% Gain
Gain ($)
Jan 2, 2020
$39.23
$10,000
$10,000
+0.00%
$0
Feb 3, 2020
$39.33
$10,500
$10,525
+0.24%
$25
Mar 2, 2020
$31.55
$11,000
$8,943
-18.70%
$-2,057
Apr 2, 2020
$27.59
$11,500
$8,321
-27.64%
$-3,179
May 4, 2020
$31.97
$12,000
$10,142
-15.48%
$-1,858
Jun 2, 2020
$39.98
$12,500
$13,183
+5.46%
$683
Jul 2, 2020
$38.42
$13,000
$13,168
+1.30%
$168
Aug 3, 2020
$42.40
$13,500
$15,033
+11.35%
$1,533
Sep 2, 2020
$42.91
$14,000
$15,713
+12.24%
$1,713
Oct 2, 2020
$40.86
$14,500
$15,463
+6.64%
$963
Nov 2, 2020
$36.97
$15,000
$14,491
-3.40%
$-509
Dec 2, 2020
$48.87
$15,500
$19,655
+26.81%
$4,155
Jan 4, 2021
$58.61
$16,000
$24,072
+50.45%
$8,072
Feb 2, 2021
$64.56
$16,500
$27,016
+63.73%
$10,516
Mar 2, 2021
$59.11
$17,000
$25,235
+48.44%
$8,235
Apr 5, 2021
$55.17
$17,500
$24,053
+37.45%
$6,553
May 3, 2021
$58.18
$18,000
$25,866
+43.70%
$7,866
Jun 2, 2021
$59.61
$18,500
$27,001
+45.95%
$8,501
Jul 2, 2021
$62.14
$19,000
$28,647
+50.78%
$9,647
Aug 2, 2021
$66.72
$19,500
$31,259
+60.30%
$11,759
Sep 2, 2021
$77.09
$20,000
$36,617
+83.09%
$16,617
Oct 4, 2021
$78.26
$20,500
$37,673
+83.77%
$17,173
Nov 2, 2021
$84.74
$21,000
$41,292
+96.63%
$20,292
Dec 2, 2021
$89.22
$21,500
$43,975
+104.54%
$22,475
Jan 3, 2022
$90.70
$22,000
$45,205
+105.48%
$23,205
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about DCA investing in PANW
Investing $500 per month in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) over the past 6 years would be worth approximately $129K today. That's +169.2% total return on $48K invested, with a +16.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).