Stock Profit Calculator

What Is Stock Profit?

Stock profit is the amount left after selling shares and subtracting the original purchase cost plus trading fees. If the result is negative, the trade made a loss.

How To Calculate Share Trading Profit

Multiply the number of shares by the buy price to get purchase cost, then add buy fees. Multiply shares by the sell price and subtract sell fees. Net profit is sale proceeds minus total invested.

Stock Profit Worked Example

Suppose you buy 100 shares at £10 and pay a £5 dealing fee. Your total invested is £1,005. If you later sell all 100 shares at £12 with another £5 fee, net sale proceeds are £1,195 and the trade profit is £190. The return on the money invested is about 18.91%, before tax. With £5 allowed for both the buy and eventual sell fee, the break-even sale price is £10.10 per share.

Keep currency conversion costs, stamp duty where applicable, platform charges and tax separate unless you have included them in the fee inputs. If you are comparing a share trade with an option position, use the Break-Even Options Calculator; options have different premium, expiry and loss mechanics and should not be assessed with the stock formula.

Profit vs Return Percentage

Profit is the cash amount gained or lost. Return percentage shows that profit compared with the amount invested. A small cash gain can be a large return on a small trade, or a low return on a large trade.

How Fees Affect Returns

Fees reduce your net result twice: they increase the purchase cost and reduce the sale proceeds. Fixed fees matter most on smaller trades because they represent a larger percentage of capital invested.

What Is A Break-Even Share Price?

The break-even share price is the minimum sell price needed to recover the buy cost and all fees. Selling above it creates a gain before tax; selling below it creates a loss.

Tax On UK Share Profits

The profit this calculator shows is a gross figure — UK tax can reduce what you keep. Gains on shares held outside a tax wrapper count towards Capital Gains Tax once your total gains for the tax year pass the annual exempt amount, and losses you realise can be set against gains. Shares held inside a Stocks and Shares ISA or a pension are free of Capital Gains Tax entirely, which is why the same trade can have very different outcomes depending on the account it sits in. Also note that most purchases of UK-listed shares attract 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax on the way in — include it in your buy fees for a realistic break-even. Rates and allowances change at Budgets, so check the current figures on GOV.UK before acting on a number.

Common Trading Mistakes

Common mistakes include ignoring fees, focusing only on cash profit, comparing trades without return percentage, forgetting tax or currency conversion, and treating hypothetical scenarios as predictions. Avoid mixing realised and unrealised results: the calculator's sell-price result is hypothetical until the trade is executed, and a portfolio return should also account for dividends and cash added or withdrawn. For a broader benchmark rather than one trade, compare with the FTSE 100 Historical Returns Calculator.