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Net P&L

Net P&L is the only figure in your journal that matches what your account actually gained or lost. It adds up every closed trade's result, then subtracts what the position cost: commission in and out, spread paid, swap if you held overnight. It is the figure your broker would recognise.

The formula

Sum of all trade results, fees included (commission + swap).

How to read it

Your real profit or loss over the period.

Compare it to your gross P&L. The gap between the two is your friction bill, and on a high-frequency style it often exceeds the net gain itself. Divided by the number of trades, it gives your expectancy, that is what an average trade earns.

The classic mistake

Judging a strategy on gross P&L. A system that makes $40 gross over 200 trades and pays $3 per round trip loses $560. Gross flatters and pays no bills: it only exists in screenshots.

To go deeper on this : read the full guide. Every term is gathered in the glossary.