This stock profit calculator works out the complete P&L of a share trade — buy and sell commissions, dividends collected while holding, total profit/loss and return on invested capital.
| Total cost (shares + buy fee) | – |
| Total received (sale − fee + dividends) | – |
| Profit / loss | – |
| Return on cost | – |
| Break-even sell price | – |
Profit = Everything You Got − Everything You Paid, Fees Included
Options on those shares price on our Black-Scholes Calculator. Part of our Finance Calculators collection.
Worked Example (Verified)
- 100 shares bought at $50, sold at $65, $5 fees each way, $1/share dividends (defaults): cost $5,005, received $6,595 → profit $1,590, return 31.77%; break-even sell price $49.10 — below the buy price, because the $100 of dividends more than covered the $10 of fees
- The naive headline (65−50)/50 = 30.0% understates the true return here because dividends added $100 — and overstates it when fees dominate small trades ($10 round-trip on a $200 position is a 5% headwind before the stock moves)
- Zero-commission era caveat: “free” trades still carry bid-ask spread and payment-for-order-flow costs — invisible, not imaginary
Trade Accounting Honesty
- Taxes are a second closing statement: short-term gains (≤ 1 yr) tax at income rates in the US; this calculator is pre-tax, like most quote screens.
- Dividends received while holding belong in total return — price-only charts lie by omission for income stocks.
- Wash-sale rules can defer losses when you rebuy within 30 days — the P&L is real, the deduction waits.
- Annualize before comparing: 31.77% over 3 years is a 9.6% CAGR, not a 31.77% “return rate” (see the CAGR Calculator).
Related Tools
- Black-Scholes Calculator — options on the position
- Dividend Calculator — yield & income
- Finance Calculators — the full collection
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate stock profit?
Profit = (shares × sell price − sell fee + dividends) − (shares × buy price + buy fee). The defaults: (100×65 − 5 + 100) − (100×50 + 5) = $1,590 on a $5,005 cost, a 31.77% return. This calculator handles all of it, including the break-even sell price.
What is the break-even price?
The sell price where profit is exactly zero: (total cost + sell fee − dividends received) ÷ shares. Defaults: (5,005 + 5 − 100) ÷ 100 = $49.10 — below the $50 buy price, because the $100 of dividends outweighed the $10 of round-trip fees. Without dividends it would be $50.10.
Do dividends count toward stock profit?
Yes — total return = price change + income. A flat stock paying 4% yielded 4%, not 0%. Brokers' “gain/loss” columns often exclude dividends (they show price P&L), which is why this calculator asks for them explicitly.
How do commissions change the math?
They raise your cost basis and lower your proceeds — a fixed drag that hits small trades hardest: $10 round-trip is 0.2% of a $5,000 position but 5% of a $200 one. Modern zero-commission brokers shrink (not erase) this via spreads.
What about taxes on the profit?
In the US, shares held over a year qualify for long-term capital-gains rates (0/15/20% federally); shorter holds tax as ordinary income, and dividends have their own qualified/non-qualified split. This tool reports pre-tax P&L — run your bracket over the result for the after-tax truth.
Is this stock profit calculator free?
Yes — free, instant, no sign-up.