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P/L Open vs. P/L Day in ThinkorSwim: What’s the Difference?

There are two ways to determine your profit or loss on a trade: P/L Open and P/L Day.

The term P/L stands for Profit/Loss.

If ThinkorSwim is your primary trading platform, get used to this term, as you’ll see it a lot.

P/L Open vs. P/L Day: What’s the Difference?

P/L Open and P/L Day both show your unrealized gains or losses.

The difference is how ThinkorSwim calculates your potential profit/loss.

P/L Open computes the total profit/loss on your position since the day you open it.

P/L Day calculate how much you made or lost since yesterday.

P/L Open vs. P/L Day: Which Figure Is More Important?

Both figures are equally important. But it depends on who’s looking at it.

If you’re a day trader, it makes more sense to pay attention to the P/L Day column in ThinkorSwim.

This figure displays your performance in terms of profit and loss from intraday trades.

Swing traders and long-term investors typically pay greater attention to P/L Open.

They may not view the daily calculation from P/L Day as vital because they want to retain their positions for a while.

Happy trading!

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5 thoughts on “P/L Open vs. P/L Day in ThinkorSwim: What’s the Difference?

  1. I noticed today that the P/L Day on my desktop is very different than on the mobile app.

    I’m showing a loss for the day on $AAPL, but it is obviously up, and the mobile app shows the P/L day is green. Is there a setting I need to update for them to match?

  2. In Think or Swim, what is the difference between P/L difference and P/L day?
    Actually, there are 4 listed. P/L year to date, P/L open, P/L day and P/L difference.
    I understand what OPEN and DAY mean. It’s obvious what the P/L year to date means.

    Just need that P/L difference explained.

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