Stock Profit Calculator
The profit or loss on a stock trade, in money and percent, after fees.
Good to know. A 50% loss needs a 100% gain to get back to where you started. Percentages aren’t symmetrical.
Not financial advice. Uses only the numbers and rates you enter — no live data.
How it works
In plain words
Your cost is the shares times the buy price, plus the buying fee. What you get is the shares times the sell price, less the selling fee. The difference is the profit or loss; divide it by the cost for the return.
The formula
cost = shares × buy price + buy fee proceeds = shares × sell price − sell fee profit = proceeds − cost return = profit ÷ cost
Worked example
100 shares bought at 50 and sold at 65: 6,500 − 5,000 = 1,500.00 of profit, a return of 30%.
Sources
- IRS Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses The gain is the amount realised less the basis, and the basis includes purchase commissions.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. 4 automated tests check its answers on every change.
About the stock profit calculator
The profit on a trade is what you received when you sold, less what it cost you to buy. Fees count on both sides: the buying commission is added to your cost (your cost basis), and the selling commission comes off what you receive.
The return in percent divides the profit by the cost, so it compares trades of different sizes. It doesn’t say how long the money was invested: 30% in a year and 30% over five years are very different results. For a yearly figure, use the CAGR calculator.
Losses and gains are not symmetrical. A share that falls 50% must double to get back to the start, and one that falls 20% needs a 25% rise. The break-even sell price shows where a trade stops losing money once fees are included.
In many countries the profit is a capital gain and taxable when you sell, often at a lower rate when the shares were held longer than a year. Dividends received along the way are separate income and aren’t included here; the dividend yield calculator covers them.
Questions people ask
How do I calculate stock profit?
Multiply the shares by the sell price, subtract the fees, and subtract what you paid in total. 100 shares bought at 50 and sold at 65 make 1,500.
How do I calculate a stock’s percentage return?
Divide the profit by what you paid, fees included. 1,500 profit on a 5,000 cost is a 30% return.
What price do I need to sell at to break even?
Your total cost plus the selling fee, divided by the number of shares.