When trading stocks on the Saudi market, the price difference between buying and selling is not enough to know your real profit — commission is deducted on both sides. This guide explains how the commission, net profit, and ROI are calculated, with an example.
Trading commission
The commission is about 0.155% of the trade value per side (buy and sell), including the broker fee, market and depository fees, and VAT. So you pay the commission twice: on the buy and on the sell.
Net profit formula
Net profit = (sale value − sale commission) − (purchase value + purchase commission)
Worked example
Buying 100 shares at SAR 50 and selling at SAR 55, with 0.155% commission:
Purchase value = SAR 5,000 + commission 7.75 = 5,007.75
Sale value = SAR 5,500 − commission 8.53 = 5,491.47
Net profit ≈ SAR 483.72 (ROI ≈ 9.7%).
Return on investment
ROI = (net profit ÷ total purchase cost) × 100. It helps you compare the merit of trades against each other regardless of capital size.