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Share Trade Profit, Fees & Break-Even Price

Calculate a long share trade’s profit, simple return and percentage-fee break-even sale price.

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Calculator inputs

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How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the known values in the units shown. Results update as you type.
  2. Where results are editable, change one to solve backwards. Lock a value to hold it fixed.
  3. Use the worked example to check the method. Reset restores the starting fields.

Use the result with context

Results are estimates for planning and education. Confirm rates, taxes, fees, and legal requirements with the relevant institution or a qualified professional before making a financial decision.

Formula and method

Buying 100 shares at 10 with a 1% purchase commission costs 1,010. Selling at 12 with a 1% sale commission returns 1,188, giving profit of 178 and simple return of about 17.6238%.

Profit = net sale proceeds − total purchase cost; ROI = profit ÷ total purchase cost; break-even sale price = total purchase cost ÷ [shares × (1 − sale-fee rate)]

Worked example

Enter these known values and leave the other values blank.

Number of shares
100
Purchase price per share
10 USD
Purchase commission rate
1 %
Sale price per share
12 USD
Sale commission rate
1 %
Total purchase commission
10 USD
Total purchase cost
1010 USD
Total sale commission
12 USD
Net sale proceeds
1188 USD
Trade profit or loss
178 USD
Simple trade return
17.624 %
Break-even sale price per share
10.2 USD

Assumptions and limitations

  • This model is a long purchase-and-sale position. Shares, both trade prices, purchase cost and net sale proceeds must be positive. Fractional share quantities are allowed.
  • Purchase and sale commissions are total amounts or equivalent percentages of each trade’s gross value. They are not fees per share.
  • The break-even formula holds the sale commission percentage constant as the sale price changes. An entered flat sale-fee amount is first expressed as a percentage of the current sale; a flat fee held constant at another price would require a different break-even equation.
  • Returns are simple, unannualized and exclude dividends, taxes, financing, currency changes and other costs. A negative profit is permitted, but a worthless zero-price disposal is outside this model’s retained price domain.

Common questions

Why does break-even exceed the purchase price?

The position must recover both the purchase cost and the modeled sale commission. Fees can therefore require a higher sale price even before taxes or other costs.

Does the return include dividends or holding time?

No. It compares net sale proceeds with total purchase cost. Dividends and time-based annualization are separate calculations.

References

The calculation equations, inverse formulas, units, and input rules were imported from this source. Bookify provides the interface and equation solver.

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