How many day traders actually make money
The largest study of day traders there is analyzed fifteen years of complete stock exchange data from Taiwan. The result: fewer than one percent of day traders reliably made money over several years.
These figures are unusually reliable because they don't come from surveys or voluntary reports. They're based on the complete, anonymised trading data of an entire exchange. A group of researchers around Brad Barber and Terrance Odean has analyzed every trade on the Taiwan stock exchange since the early 2000s, over fifteen years and billions of individual trades.
The key result: from 1992 to 2006, on an average day, day traders lost about 0.24 percent of the money they put in after fees and taxes. That sounds like little. But anyone trading on 200 days a year ends up with a loss of almost 40 percent a year.
Of those who made a profit at all, only a few managed it over several years. Fewer than one percent of all day traders reliably made money over years, not just by chance. In a single year some were in the black, but most of them not for long.
Studies at other exchanges reach similar results. A study of day traders on the Brazilian futures market found that of those who stuck it out for at least three hundred trading days, ninety seven percent ended up with a loss.
Barber, Lee, Liu and Odean (2014) and Barber, Lee, Liu, Odean and Zhang (2020) analyzed every trade on the Taiwan stock exchange from 1992 to 2006, several billion individual trades. On an average day, day traders lost about 0.07 percent before costs and about 0.24 percent after costs. In fourteen of the fifteen years the group as a whole was clearly in the red.
How unevenly success is spread is revealing. The traders who reliably made money made up fewer than three percent of those actively trading and fewer than one percent of all day traders. They accounted for only about ten percent of all trading. So the vast majority of turnover was generated by the majority who lost money.
The study also tracked how long new day traders stayed. After one year 44 percent were still trading, after two years 24 percent, after three years 15 percent. That fits what's known about loss aversion: after losses many raise their stake rather than stop. So whoever is left doesn't necessarily have the better strategy. Often they simply still have money.
Data as text
After 1 year, 44 percent of new day traders are still trading, after 2 years 24 percent, and after 3 years 15 percent.
Summary
- Over fifteen years of complete exchange data, fewer than one percent of day traders reliably made money.
- Most of all trading was generated by the majority who lost money.
- Three years after starting, only 15 percent of new day traders were still trading.
Did you get it?
What do the Taiwan day-trader figures rest on, and why are they especially reliable?
On the complete trading data of an entire exchange over 15 years, not on surveys. That removes the distortions that arise when people report their own results.
How large was the average daily loss for day traders after costs?
About 0.24 percent of the money put in per day.
How many of the newly started day traders were still active after three years?
About 15 percent.
Sources and further reading
- Barber, B. M., Lee, Y.-T., Liu, Y.-J. and Odean, T. (2014), The Cross-Section of Speculator Skill: Evidence from Day Trading, Journal of Financial Markets 18, pp. 1 to 24, bibliographic record at RePEc. Retrieved October 14, 2026. View source ↗
- Barber, B. M., Lee, Y.-T., Liu, Y.-J., Odean, T. and Zhang, K. (2020), Learning Fast or Slow?, Review of Asset Pricing Studies View source ↗
- Barber, Lee, Liu, Odean and Zhang, Do Day Traders Rationally Learn About Their Ability? (working paper, October 2017, UC Berkeley): Taiwan Stock Exchange data 1992 to 2006, daily losses and survival of day traders. Retrieved October 9, 2026. View source ↗
- Barber, Lee, Liu, Odean and Zhang (2020), Learning, Fast or Slow, Review of Asset Pricing Studies 10 (1), pp. 61 to 93, bibliographic record at RePEc. Retrieved October 9, 2026. View source ↗
- Chague, F., De-Losso, R. and Giovannetti, B. (2020), Day trading for a living?, FGV EESP, Textos para discussão No. 525: day traders in Brazil's equity futures market 2013 to 2015 with at least 300 trading days. Retrieved October 14, 2026. View source ↗
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