Currency Gain/Loss Calculator

Split Your Foreign Stock Return into Price and FX Effects

See how much of your profit or loss on foreign stocks came from the share price, and how much from the exchange rate.

What this calculator does

When you buy a stock priced in a foreign currency, like US shares bought with pounds, euros or Canadian dollars, two things drive your real return: the share price and the exchange rate.
This calculator converts everything into your home currency and splits your total profit or loss into a price effect and a currency effect, so you can see which one actually made or lost you money.

How to use it

Buy price and FX rate: Enter the share price in the foreign currency and the exchange rate on the day you bought.
Quantity: Enter the number of shares (fractional shares are fine).
Sell price and FX rate: Enter the share price and exchange rate on the day you sold, or today's values to check an open position.
Calculate: See your total profit or loss in your home currency, split into price and currency effects.

Example (UK investor, US stock)

"Bought 10 shares at $150 when $1 = £0.80, sold at $165 when $1 = £0.72?"

Price effect: +£120 (the stock rose 10%)
Currency effect: -£132 (the dollar fell 10% against the pound)
Result: the stock rose 10%, but the total is -£12, a loss

At purchase

Buy price (foreign currency)

FX rate at purchase

Quantity (shares)

At sale

Sell price (foreign currency)

FX rate at sale

Enter the FX rate as home currency per 1 unit of foreign currency, e.g. £0.80 per $1. If your rate is quoted the other way round (GBP/USD 1.25), enter 1 ÷ 1.25 = 0.80.

Currency Gain/Loss Calculator FAQ

When you own an asset priced in a foreign currency, its value in your home currency changes with the exchange rate, separately from the asset's own price. If the foreign currency strengthens against yours between buying and selling, you get a currency gain; if it weakens, you get a currency loss.

Your final result is the stock move and the currency move combined. If a US stock rises 10% but the dollar falls more than about 10% against your currency over the same period, your return in your home currency can still be negative. It's one of the most overlooked risks of investing abroad.

Enter it as how much of your home currency 1 unit of the foreign currency costs. For a UK investor buying US stocks, that's pounds per dollar, e.g. 0.80.
Many platforms quote it the other way (GBP/USD = 1.25 dollars per pound). In that case enter 1 ÷ 1.25 = 0.80. Use the rate you actually got on the conversion if you know it.

Price effect = (sell price − buy price) × quantity × buy FX rate
Currency effect = sell price × quantity × (sell FX rate − buy FX rate)
Added together, they always equal your total profit or loss in your home currency.

No. Many brokers charge an FX conversion fee or spread each time you exchange currency, sometimes 0.5% or more per conversion, plus trading fees. Your real result will be a little lower than shown here, so it's worth checking your platform's FX charges.

Largely, yes. Currency-hedged ETFs and funds use hedging to offset most exchange-rate moves, so the currency effect shown here would be much smaller. Holding foreign shares directly or through unhedged funds leaves you fully exposed, which is what this calculator models.

It depends on where you live. In many countries, including the UK and Canada, capital gains on foreign shares are calculated in your home currency using the exchange rates on the purchase and sale dates, so currency movements become part of your taxable gain or loss. Check the rules in your country or ask a tax professional.