Stock Profit Calculator
Stock profit is the gain or loss from selling shares: the sale proceeds minus what you paid, after fees. Expressing it as a percentage of your cost shows how the position performed regardless of size. This calculator measures price-based, pre-tax profit. It does not include dividends, borrowing costs, currency effects, or taxes.
Estimate profit
Adjust the assumptions. Results update in your browser only.
Applied once to the buy side and once to the sell side.
Stock profit
$300
The position returned 30.00% on a $1,000 total cost before taxes.
Breakdown
- Total cost
- $1,000
- Sale proceeds
- $1,300
- Percentage return
- 30.00%
How the Stock Profit calculator works
Stock profit measures the realized or hypothetical gain from a share price move. It is a position math tool, not a complete total-return or tax model.
The calculator multiplies buy price by shares and adds the fee input to estimate cost. It multiplies sell price by shares and subtracts the same fee input to estimate proceeds, then compares proceeds with cost.
cost = buy_price x shares + fees
proceeds = sell_price x shares - fees
profit = proceeds - cost
percentage_return = profit / cost- The fees input is applied once to the buy side and once to the sell side.
- Percentage return divides profit by total cost so positions of different sizes can be compared.
- A negative result is a loss and a negative percentage return.
When to use it
Helpful for
- Estimating profit or loss before selling shares.
- Comparing trade outcomes across position sizes.
- Checking the sale price needed to reach a target return.
Can mislead when
- Dividends were a meaningful part of the holding-period return.
- Taxes, borrowing costs, or currency conversion materially affect the result.
- The position was built or sold across many lots with different prices.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting fees when the position size is small.
- Comparing dollar profit instead of percentage return across different position sizes.
- Treating pre-tax profit as after-tax cash available.
- Ignoring dividends when measuring total return over a long holding period.
Worked example
The default inputs use a 100 buy price, 130 sell price, 10 shares, and 0 fees. Cost is 1000, proceeds are 1300, profit is 300, and percentage return is 30.00%.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost | $1,000 |
| Proceeds | $1,300 |
| Profit | $300 |
| Percentage return | 30.00% |
Frequently asked questions
No. This measures price-based profit only. Total return also includes dividends received while you held the shares, which this calculator does not add.
Yes, if you enter them. Fees reduce proceeds and raise your effective cost, so including them gives a truer net profit.
Percentage return is profit divided by total cost. It lets you compare positions of different sizes on equal footing.
This figure is pre-tax. A realized gain may be taxable depending on how long you held the shares; estimate that separately with a capital gains tax calculator.
Compare stocks before selling
Use the screener to compare fundamentals and valuation before acting on a profit or loss.