How much must you gain
to recover a loss?

Each decline applies to the remaining value

Each loss is applied to the value at that point. A 10% decline takes 100 to 90; another 10% takes 90 to 81. The combined loss is 19% of the initial 100, rather than 20%. Restoring the missing 19 from 81 requires a gain of about 23.46%.

For successive declines, calculate the combined loss from the original and current values before entering it. This table is arithmetic for an unchanged holding with no intervening cash flows. It does not represent an asset history or forecast a recovery path.

Distinguish added capital from recovered investment value

If an account funded with 100 falls to 80, adding 20 restores the balance to 100. Total contributions are now 120, so an unrealized loss of 20 remains. The original balance has returned through a deposit, rather than through investment recovery.

If the new money is also invested in the same asset with no further cash flows, growing the current 100 to the total contributed 120 requires 20%. This differs from the 25% required to restore the original remaining 80 to 100. If the new money stays in cash, different parts of the account have different returns, so one recovery rate cannot describe the whole balance.

Compare average cost and profit or loss after buying more

A recovery gain measures neither time nor probability

A required gain of 100% means the remaining value must double, not that it will double within one year. Time to recovery depends on future prices. This calculation alone does not establish a reason to keep holding or the probability of a rebound.

At a 100% loss, the remaining value is zero. No finite gain on that remaining value restores the original capital without new money. Do not substitute a small positive amount for zero or treat a balance funded by new deposits as recovery of the old loss.

Annualize a given starting and ending value · Explore historical drawdowns and recovery periods

Required recovery gain formula

Required gain = loss percentage ÷ (100 − loss percentage) × 100. Losing 20 from an original 100 leaves 80. You need another 20: 20 ÷ 80 × 100 = 25%.

Recovering a 50% loss

A fall from 100 to 50 requires another 50 on the remaining 50. A 50% gain only reaches 75; a 100% gain restores 100.

Loss percentage

50%

Value after loss

50

Required gain

100%

Recovery gains by loss percentage

Frequently asked questions