Unrealized P/L
Unrealized P/L is the profit or loss you would make if you sold right now — real on screen, but not banked until you sell.
You bought at $100 and the price is $120, so you are up $20 a share. That $20 is unrealized: it exists on paper, and it can disappear tomorrow. Sell, and it becomes realized — actual cash in your account that no later price move can take back.
The distinction matters because unrealized gains make people feel rich and unrealized losses make them feel wrong. Both feelings push people into trades that have nothing to do with what the company is worth.
In Stoxhatch
Every holding shows unrealized P/L in cash and percent. The journal only scores a trade once you close it.
Related
- Position — A position is what you currently own in one company: how many shares, and what you paid for them.
- Cost basis — Cost basis is the average price you paid per share, and it is the number every profit or loss is measured against.
- Investment thesis — A thesis is the reason you are buying, written down before you buy, in language specific enough to be proved wrong.
Try it with $10,000 of simulated cash, no signup needed — or browse the rest of the glossary.