Gen Digital (GEN) RSU sell-vs-hold
Calculator · free · no signup · GENSell at vest or hold? Compare after-tax payout from selling Gen Digital RSUs at vest vs. holding through the LTCG cliff at 12 months.
Beta · invite-only · AlphaLatitude Inc. · Free Tools
Your vest
Tax inputs
Hold strategy
Best after-tax payout — at year 1 yr
$47,709
Sell + invest wins by $4,981 over Hold 1 yr.
Estimates only. Not financial advice.
Heads-up: under-withholding. Your employer withholds federal tax at the IRS supplemental rate (22.0% on this vest, ≈ $17,600). Your marginal federal rate on this vest is 32.7%, owing $26,171. Expect to settle the $8,571 gap at tax time.
The hidden purchase
Tax was paid at vest either way. Holding is mathematically equivalent to taking $44,509 in after-tax cash and buying $44,509 of GEN today.
Most diversification frameworks would advise against a purchase that size in a single name; the right answer depends on your conviction in GEN. Holding past one year converts the gain to LTCG.
Sell + invest
Best payout| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Federal | |
| State | |
| Medicare | −$1,160 |
| Additional Medicare | −$720 |
| Market gain over 1 yr at 10.0% | $4,451 |
| Cap-gain tax on diversified gain — LTCG (federal + state + NIIT) | −$1,251 |
| Net at year 1 yr | $47,709 |
Sell every share at vest; invest the after-tax cash at the market return for 1 yr, then liquidate. Diversified — no single-stock concentration risk.
Hold 1 yr
| Vest value (shares × price) | $80,000 |
| Vest tax (federal + state + FICA) | |
| Net at year 1 yr | $42,728 |
Sold 444 shares to cover vest tax (net-settled); kept 556 shares 1 yr to qualify for long-term capital gains.
Social Security + Medicare are payroll taxes (collectively called FICA) — they apply because you're still employed at vest.
Both columns are stated in year-1 yr dollars. The sell side compounds at the market return; the hold side compounds at your single-stock expected return after a 20% volatility drag.
Estimates only. Assumes net-settled (sell-to-cover) vesting; double-trigger and pre-IPO RSUs are out of scope. Excludes multi-state moves, AMT interactions on other equity, and 83(b) elections. Not financial advice.
You evaluated one RSU vest. The beta plans every vest of every grant across years, with concentration and AMT in the loop.
Request beta access →Related calculators: RSU Lot Order Calculator · Stock Concentration Calculator
About Gen Digital
Gen Digital (GEN) is a public Cybersecurity company, incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Tempe, AZ.
Last close: $27.64 per share (as of 2026-08-18).
Equity grants at Gen Digital typically include restricted stock units (RSUs).
Gen Digital Inc. is a multinational software company co-headquartered in both Tempe, Arizona (USA) and Prague, Czech Republic (EU). The company provides cybersecurity software, financial technology, and services. Gen is a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500 stock-market index. It is listed at both NASDAQ and Prague Stock Exchange. Its portfolio includes Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira, AVG, ReputationDefender, MoneyLion and CCleaner.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The company is what remained after Symantec sold its enterprise security division to Broadcom in 2019, keeping the consumer brands and later merging with Avast in 2022 to form Gen Digital. Norton, Avast, LifeLock, and Avira are sold as subscriptions directly to consumers, so the economics turn on renewal rates and the cost of acquiring a subscriber rather than on enterprise sales cycles. Identity protection and credit monitoring carry higher prices than antivirus alone, which is why the mix has shifted that way. Direct billing relationships make price increases straightforward to implement. Headquarters are in Tempe, Arizona.
Sources: sec.gov · en.wikipedia.org
OptionsAhoy is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Gen Digital.
Gen Digital (GEN) RSUs vest as ordinary income at the price on vest day. The decision is whether to sell at vest and reinvest, or hold the shares through the 12-month LTCG cliff. This calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare like-for-like.
Example: 500 Gen Digital (GEN) RSUs vesting at $27.64 per share is $13,820 of ordinary income on vest day. After roughly 32% combined federal + state + FICA (~$4,422), the post-tax share value is ~$9,398. Holding 12 months for long-term capital-gains treatment then only matters for the price change between vest and sale; the ordinary income at vest is already locked in. The calculator runs both paths through the same after-tax math.
All Gen Digital tools → · Use the generic RSU Sell-vs-Hold Calculator for any company. Diversifying multiple RSU lots? See the lot-by-lot sell order →
Gen Digital equity questions
- Should I sell or hold my Gen Digital RSUs at vest?
- Gen Digital restricted stock units (RSUs) are taxed as ordinary income on their value at vest whether or not you sell. The only open decision is what to do with the shares afterward: sell at vest and reinvest, or hold past twelve months for long-term capital-gains treatment on any further gain. The calculator above runs both paths through the same after-tax math so you can compare them directly.
- Does Gen Digital grant ISOs, NSOs, or RSUs?
- Equity compensation at Gen Digital typically takes the form of restricted stock units (RSUs). Restricted stock units are taxed as ordinary income when they vest.
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