Stock ROI Calculator — Calculate Return on Investment for Any Trade

Stock ROI tells you the percentage return on your invested money. A $500 profit means nothing without context. Was it on a $1,000 investment (50% ROI) or a $50,000 investment (1% ROI)? The percentage is what matters.

Calculate Stock ROI

1. Open the Stock Profit Calculator
2. Enter buy price, sell price, shares, and any fees
3. Read the ROI percentage in the results

The ROI Formula

ROI = (Net Profit / Total Cost) × 100

Where:

• Net Profit = Total Revenue - Total Cost
• Total Cost = (Buy Price × Shares) + Buy Commission
• Total Revenue = (Sell Price × Shares) - Sell Commission

ROI Examples

Investment	Profit	ROI	Verdict
$1,000 → $1,150	$150	15.0%	Solid for a few months
$5,000 → $6,200	$1,200	24.0%	Strong trade
$10,000 → $10,300	$300	3.0%	Barely beat savings account
$2,000 → $3,400	$1,400	70.0%	Exceptional
$8,000 → $7,200	-$800	-10.0%	Loss territory

ROI Benchmarks

Benchmark	Typical Annual Return
High-yield savings	4-5%
S&P 500 (historical average)	~10% (7% real)
Individual stock trade (good)	15-30%
Individual stock trade (great)	30-100%+
Warren Buffett (lifetime avg)	~20% annually

Context matters. A 15% ROI in 2 weeks is incredible. A 15% ROI over 3 years underperforms the S&P 500.

ROI vs Annualized Return

ROI does not account for time. To compare investments held for different periods, annualize:

Annualized Return = ((1 + ROI) ^ (365 / Days Held)) - 1

• 20% in 30 days → ~241% annualized (but unsustainable)
• 20% in 365 days → 20% annualized
• 20% in 730 days → ~9.5% annualized

Why ROI Matters More Than Dollar Profit

Trader A makes $5,000 profit. Trader B makes $2,000 profit. Who did better?

Trader A invested $100,000 for a 5% return. Trader B invested $10,000 for a 20% return. Trader B was 4x more efficient with capital, even though the dollar amount was smaller.

ROI measures capital efficiency. It answers: "How hard did my money work?"

Related: Compound Interest Calculator, Percentage Calculator.