The short stock profit calculator is a powerful tool that helps traders evaluate the profitability of short trades. By entering key trade data such as entry price, exit price, commissions, number of shares, days held, and the stock borrow rate, the calculator determines your net profit or loss, taking into account all associated costs.

The Short Stock Profit Calculator








Net Profit/Loss: -

Step-by-Step Explanation of The Short Stock Profit Calculator

Entry Price and Exit Price: The calculator starts by calculating the gross profit or loss from the trade. Since this is a short position, profit is generated when the stock price drops between the entry and exit.

Gross Profit/Loss Formula:


Gross Profit/Loss=(Entry PriceExit Price)×Number of Shares\text{Gross Profit/Loss} = (\text{Entry Price} – \text{Exit Price}) \times \text{Number of Shares}

This initial calculation shows how much was earned or lost based on the price change of the stock while the short position was held.

Commissions on Entry and Exit: The calculator deducts entry and exit commissions, which are fees charged by the broker to execute the trades. These are entered as percentages of the stock prices during both the entry and exit of the trade.

Total Commission Formula:


Total Commission=(Entry Price×Commission on Entry×Number of Shares)+(Exit Price×Commission on Exit×Number of Shares)\text{Total Commission} = (\text{Entry Price} \times \text{Commission on Entry} \times \text{Number of Shares}) + (\text{Exit Price} \times \text{Commission on Exit} \times \text{Number of Shares})

Stock Borrow Rate: For short selling, there is an additional cost – the borrow rate – which is charged as an annual percentage for borrowing shares. The calculator factors in the stock borrow rate for the number of days the short position was held.

Borrow Cost Formula:


Borrow Cost=(Entry Price×Borrow Rate×Number of Shares×Days Held365)\text{Borrow Cost} = (\text{Entry Price} \times \text{Borrow Rate} \times \text{Number of Shares} \times \frac{\text{Days Held}}{365})

Net Profit/Loss: Finally, the short stock profit calculator subtracts the total commissions and the borrow cost from the gross profit to give the net profit or loss.

Net Profit/Loss Formula:


Net Profit/Loss=Gross Profit/LossTotal CommissionBorrow Cost\text{Net Profit/Loss} = \text{Gross Profit/Loss} – \text{Total Commission} – \text{Borrow Cost}

Example of How The Short Stock Profit Calculator Works

Let’s say you shorted 100 shares of a stock at $50 per share, exited the trade at $45, held the position for 10 days, paid 0.5% commission on both entry and exit, and had a borrow rate of 2%. The short stock profit calculator would compute the gross profit first, subtract the commission fees, and factor in the borrow cost to give you the net profit or loss.

Importance of the Short Stock Profit Calculator

Using a short stock profit calculator is essential for short sellers to understand their true profits after accounting for commissions and borrowing costs. This ensures that traders don’t overlook hidden costs that can significantly affect profitability. Additionally, by incorporating the number of days held and the borrow rate, the calculator provides a more realistic view of the total cost of a short trade.

To become a more successful trader and fully optimize your trading strategy, consider learning more through The Trader Success System, where you can build the skills and systems needed to consistently generate profits while minimizing risk and costs.

Conclusion

The short stock profit calculator simplifies the process of calculating potential profits or losses from short trades. By entering trade-specific data like entry/exit prices, commissions, stock borrow rate, and days held, traders can easily determine their net profits or losses, helping them make better-informed trading decisions.

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Adrian Reid Founder and CEO
Adrian is a full-time private trader based in Australia and also the Founder and Trading Coach at Enlightened Stock Trading, which focuses on educating and supporting traders on their journey to profitable systems trading. Following his successful adoption of systematic trading which generated him hundreds of thousands of dollars a year using just 30 minutes a day to manage his system trading workflow, Adrian made the easy decision to leave his professional work in the corporate world in 2012. Adrian trades long/short across US, Australian and international stock markets and the cryptocurrency markets. His trading systems are now fully automated and have consistently outperformed international share markets with dramatically reduced risk over the past 20+ years. Adrian focuses on building portfolios of profitable, stable and robust long term trading systems to beat market returns with high risk adjusted returns. Adrian teaches traders from all over the world how to get profitable, confident and consistent by trading systematically and backtesting their own trading systems. He helps profitable traders grow and smooth returns by implementing a portfolio of trading systems to make money from different markets and market conditions.