I bought 50 shares of a stock at $46.93 on 25 Aug 2025 which is now at $48.30. During this period I sold and bought this stock several times to earn a profit of $37.5. Had I just kept on holding, I would have earned $68.5 profit.
But then this $68.5 is unrealized gain while $37.5 is realized gain aka hard cash so I am in a dilemma.
Statistically speaking, is it better to hold a stock or to keep on trading it daily to earn higher profit?
Unrealized long term gain vs Realized short term gain
byu/FrankMartinTransport ininvesting
Posted by FrankMartinTransport
2 Comments
How did you earn a higher profit if it’s worth more if you didn’t sell?
>Statistically speaking, is it better to hold a stock or to keep on trading it daily to earn higher profit?
Statistically speaking most people are very bad at day trading and end up losing money or underperforming buy and hold
Also long term gains are taxed more favorably then short term gains , so even if you can make a few extra dollars by constantly buying and selling you may end up with less net due to taxes
However theoretically if you are a perfect trader and sell at all the tops and buy at the lows you would make more money . However this is like saying playing the lotto is the best way to make money as long as you pick winning numbers , or going to the casino is super profitable as long as you keep betting the winning number in roulette