About Stock Profit Calculator
Calculate the net profit or loss from a stock trade after accounting for buy and sell commissions. The ROI percentage shows the return relative to your total investment. A positive ROI means profit, while negative indicates a loss.
When to Use This Calculator
Use this before making any stock trade to plan your profit target and understand your net gain after commissions. It's also useful for tax planning — you need to know your exact gains for capital gains tax reporting. Day traders use it to quickly evaluate whether a trade is worth the commission cost relative to the potential profit. Long-term investors can use it to track cumulative returns on their portfolio across multiple trades.
How to Interpret Your Results
Buy 100 shares at $150, sell at $180, $10 commission per trade: Total Buy Cost = $15,000, Sell Revenue = $18,000, Total Commission = $20, Net Profit = $2,980, ROI = 19.8%, Gain per Share = $30. Without commissions, you'd have $3,000 profit. The $20 commission reduced your profit by 0.67% — small for this trade but significant for smaller trades of 10-20 shares where commissions can eat up 5-10% of your profit.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your buy price per share, sell price per share, number of shares, and commission per trade. For example, buy 100 shares at $150, sell at $180, with $10 commission per trade. Click Calculate to see your total profit or loss, buy cost, sell revenue, total commission, ROI, and gain per share. The doughnut chart shows your investment, commissions, and profit at a glance. Adjust any value to see how different exit prices affect your returns.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I calculate profit if I bought shares at different prices?
Use the weighted average cost method. Multiply each purchase's shares by its price, sum them up, then divide by total shares. For example, buy 50 shares at $100 and 50 shares at $120: Total cost = (50 x $100) + (50 x $120) = $11,000, Average cost = $11,000/100 = $110 per share. Use $110 as your buy price in the calculator for accurate results across multiple purchase lots.
How do stock splits and dividends affect my cost basis?
In a stock split, your cost basis per share is adjusted proportionally. For a 2-for-1 split, if you bought 100 shares at $100 each ($10,000 total), you now own 200 shares at $50 each — total basis remains $10,000. Stock dividends (additional shares) work similarly, reducing per-share cost. Cash dividends do not affect cost basis; they are taxable income in the year received. Reinvested dividends, however, increase your total cost basis because you purchased additional shares, so track those separately for accurate profit calculations.
What is the difference between realized and unrealized gains?
An unrealized gain (paper gain) is the increase in value of a stock you still own — for example, if you bought at $100 and it's now $150, you have a $50 unrealized gain per share. A realized gain occurs when you actually sell the stock, locking in the profit. Unrealized gains are not taxable; realized gains are subject to capital gains tax. If you hold for over one year, you qualify for the lower long-term capital gains rate (0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income) versus short-term rates that match your ordinary income tax bracket.
How do brokerage commissions and fees affect stock profit?
Commissions directly reduce your net profit. Most major brokerages now offer $0 commission trades, but some still charge $5-$10 per trade, and options trades often have per-contract fees ($0.50-$1.00). For a $10,000 trade, a $10 commission is only 0.1%, but for a $500 trade, it's 2% — significantly eating into small-position profits. Always factor in both buy-side and sell-side commissions. Other fees to watch: SEC fees (very small, on sell orders), account maintenance fees, and mutual fund transaction fees. Even with zero commissions, the bid-ask spread can cost you 0.1-1% per trade.
What is wash sale rule and how does it affect tax calculations?
The wash sale rule disallows claiming a capital loss on a stock if you buy the same or substantially identical stock within 30 days before or after the sale. For example, if you sell 100 shares of XYZ at a $500 loss and buy 100 shares back within 30 days, that $500 loss is disallowed for tax purposes. The disallowed loss is added to the cost basis of the new shares, so you can claim it when you eventually sell those shares outside the wash sale window. This rule primarily affects active traders and those tax-loss harvesting in their taxable accounts.