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Worked Examples · Example 23

Q.Which is better investment 7.5% stock at 105 or 6.5% stock at 94

Delhi CbseNCERTSubjective· 3mImportance★★★★★est
74% · 53/72 Questions
✓ Free question

The better investment is the one with the higher yield. The 6.5% stock at 94 gives a yield of about 6.91%, while the 7.5% stock at 105 gives about 7.14%. So the 7.5% stock at 105 is the better investment.

When comparing two stocks with different face values, market prices, and dividend rates, you cannot just look at the dividend percentage. A stock’s “7.5%” means it pays 7.5% of its face value (usually ₹100) as dividend every year, regardless of what you paid for it. The real question is: What return do I earn on the money I actually invest? That return is called the yield.

Yield is calculated as:

Yield=Annual DividendMarket Price×100\text{Yield} = \frac{\text{Annual Dividend}}{\text{Market Price}} \times 100

The stock with the higher yield gives you more income per rupee invested. Let’s compute both.


  1. Find the annual dividend for each stock.

    Both stocks are assumed to have a face value of ₹100 (standard for such problems unless stated otherwise).

    • For the 7.5% stock: Dividend per share = 7.5% of 100=₹7.507.5\% \text{ of } 100 = ₹7.50
    • For the 6.5% stock: Dividend per share = 6.5% of 100=₹6.506.5\% \text{ of } 100 = ₹6.50
  2. Compute the yield for the 7.5% stock at ₹105.

    You pay ₹105 to get ₹7.50 per year.

Yield=7.50105×100=750105≈7.1429%\text{Yield} = \frac{7.50}{105} \times 100 = \frac{750}{105} \approx 7.1429\%

  1. Compute the yield for the 6.5% stock at ₹94. You pay ₹94 to get ₹6.50 per year.

Yield=6.5094×100=65094≈6.9149%\text{Yield} = \frac{6.50}{94} \times 100 = \frac{650}{94} \approx 6.9149\%

  1. Compare the yields.

    • 7.5% stock at 105: ≈ 7.14%
    • 6.5% stock at 94: ≈ 6.91%

    The 7.5% stock gives a higher return on your investment.

Watch out

A common mistake is to compare the dividend rates (7.5% vs 6.5%) directly. That ignores the price you pay. A stock with a lower dividend rate but bought at a deep discount can sometimes yield more. Here, the discount on the 6.5% stock (94 vs 100) is not enough to beat the higher dividend of the other stock.

Tip

You can also think in terms of income per ₹100 invested. For the 7.5% stock, ₹100 invested buys 100105\frac{100}{105} shares, giving 100105×7.5=₹7.14\frac{100}{105} \times 7.5 = ₹7.14 income. For the 6.5% stock, ₹100 buys 10094\frac{100}{94} shares, giving 10094×6.5≈₹6.91\frac{100}{94} \times 6.5 \approx ₹6.91 income. Same result.

✓Final answer

The 7.5% stock at 105 is the better investment, yielding about 7.14% compared to 6.91% for the 6.5% stock at 94.

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