Skip to content
LiquidityLevels
Log in Start free
Free tool

Stock profit calculator: gain, loss and percent return

Enter what you paid, what you sold for, how many shares and any fees. You get the profit or loss, the percent return and the gain needed to get back to even.

How to use it

  1. Enter the buy price, the sell price and the number of shares.
  2. Add total fees if any.
  3. Read the profit or loss and the percent return.
  4. If the trade lost money, read the gain needed to recover.
Profit = (sell − buy) × shares − fees · Recovery gain = loss% ÷ (1 − loss%)
Example. Buy $50, sell $58, 100 shares: profit $800, return +16.00%. A 20% loss needs a 25% gain to recover.

About this calculator

Percent return puts trades of different sizes on one scale. Losses are asymmetric: a 50% loss needs a 100% gain to get back to even, which is why keeping losses small matters more than the size of the occasional winner. This calculator does not include taxes, and slippage on real fills can differ from the prices you enter.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate stock profit percentage?
Subtract the buy price from the sell price, divide by the buy price and multiply by 100, after allowing for fees.
Why does a loss need a bigger gain to recover?
Because the gain applies to a smaller balance. A 50% drop needs a 100% rise to return to the starting value.
Does this include taxes?
No. Taxes depend on your jurisdiction and holding period.

Reviewing a SPY or QQQ trade?

See SPY premarket levels: structure, key levels and catalysts in futures and SPY/QQQ terms, before the 9:30 ET open.

See SPY premarket levelsStart free trial

More free tools

Average Cost CalculatorRisk / Reward CalculatorPosition Size CalculatorAll tools

Related market pages

SPY premarket levelsToday’s levelMarket Structure Academy
Embed this calculator on your site (free, with attribution)

Paste this snippet. The calculator includes a small LiquidityLevels attribution link.

Informational calculator for reference only. Outputs are arithmetic, not quotes, recommendations or trade signals. LiquidityLevels provides educational market commentary, not financial advice.