Stock Profit Calculator
Calculate your stock investment profits, losses, and percentage returns instantly
Calculate Your Stock Profit
Enter your purchase and sale details to see your investment results
How to Use the Stock Profit Calculator
Our stock profit calculator helps you quickly determine your gains or losses from stock investments. Simply enter your purchase price, sale price, number of shares, and any fees to get instant results.
What is Stock Profit?
Stock profit (or loss) is the difference between what you paid for shares and what you received when selling them, minus any transaction fees. A positive result indicates a profit, while a negative result indicates a loss.
Formula
Total Cost = (Buy Price × Shares) + Fees
Total Revenue = Sell Price × Shares
Profit/Loss = Total Revenue - Total Cost
Percentage Return = (Profit/Loss ÷ Total Cost) × 100
Example Calculation
Let's say you bought 100 shares of a stock at $50 per share and sold them at $75 per share, with $10 in total fees:
- Total Cost: (100 × $50) + $10 = $5,010
- Total Revenue: 100 × $75 = $7,500
- Profit: $7,500 - $5,010 = $2,490
- Return: ($2,490 ÷ $5,010) × 100 = 49.70%
When to Use This Calculator
- Planning to sell stocks and want to know potential profits
- Reviewing past trades to calculate actual returns
- Comparing different selling price scenarios
- Understanding the impact of fees on your returns
Investment Tips
- Always factor in transaction fees when calculating profits
- Consider the holding period for tax implications
- Compare percentage returns across different investments
- Use break-even price to set informed stop-loss orders
Understanding Percentage Returns
A 50% return sounds impressive - but context matters. If you risked your entire portfolio on one volatile stock to achieve it, that's reckless. If you earned 50% consistently across diversified positions over several years, that's exceptional skill.
Professional investors benchmark their returns against market indices. Beating the S&P 500's historical ~10% annual return consistently is difficult. Most active traders underperform simple index funds after accounting for fees and taxes.
Tax Considerations
Your profit calculation is incomplete without considering taxes. Short-term capital gains (held ≤ 1 year) are taxed at your ordinary income rate - potentially 37% at the federal level. Long-term gains (held > 1 year) enjoy lower rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%.
Use our Capital Gains Tax Calculator to estimate your after-tax profit. The difference can be massive - a $10,000 short-term gain might net you $6,300 after taxes, while a long-term gain could net $8,500.
Common Profit Mistakes
Investors often celebrate profits without considering opportunity cost. If you made 5% on a stock while the market rose 15%, you actually underperformed - your capital would have grown more in an index fund.
Another mistake: ignoring holding period. A 10% profit in one month is spectacular (120% annualized). The same 10% over two years is mediocre (4.9% annualized). Always consider time when evaluating returns.
When to Take Profits
No one went broke taking profits - but many left money on the table. Successful investors set profit targets before entering trades. If you aimed for 25% and hit it, sell. Don't get greedy hoping for 50%.
Consider scaling out of positions. Sell half at your target, let the rest ride with a trailing stop. This locks in gains while allowing for further upside. For position sizing guidance, check our Position Sizing Calculator.