Count ticks before multiplying their value
For a long position, signed movement is exit minus entry; reverse the sign for a short position. Gross P&L = signed movement / minimum tick × USD per tick × contracts. Subtract total entered costs per contract multiplied by contracts for the net scenario.
An illustrative ES move from 5,800 to 5,801 is four 0.25-point ticks. One contract earns USD 50 gross, not USD 12.50. Two contracts earn USD 100; with USD 4 total trading costs per contract, net P&L is USD 92. The CME E-mini FAQ documents the ES outright tick increment and value.
Use the price scale printed on the contract
Corn and wheat presets use cents per bushel: a move from 450 to 451 is one cent, or four ticks, worth USD 50 for one 5,000-bushel contract. Gold uses dollars per troy ounce, crude oil dollars per barrel and natural gas dollars per MMBtu. Those contract sizes are not all ounces. Check the CME grain contract specifications and current contract rules before using a preset.
Euro FX uses USD per EUR and the 6E contract represents EUR 125,000; its 0.00005 outright tick is USD 6.25. Japanese yen futures use USD per JPY; the 6J contract represents JPY 12,500,000 and a 0.0000005 tick is USD 6.25. Reversing the currency quote changes the calculation. The CME price-increment notice documents these outright increments and separate spread rules.
Margin is collateral, not a loss limit
CME describes futures margin as a performance bond rather than a loan or purchase payment. Check the current broker requirement for the exact position.
This page uses only the initial amount you supply: total = per-contract initial margin × number of contracts. For an invented USD 12,000 per-contract requirement, two contracts require USD 24,000 before other account requirements. That number is an example, not a current ES margin quote.
A changing market or broker policy may change required collateral. Maintenance requirements, variation-margin cash flows, intraday concessions, portfolio offsets and liquidation are outside this arithmetic. Losses can exceed posted margin. Net P&L divided by the entered margin is a scenario ratio, not an annual return or a measure of maximum risk.
Keep crypto examples separate from listed contracts
The five crypto presets are hypothetical linear positions representing one coin each with assumed tick increments. They do not represent CME contract sizes or any exchange’s perpetual, inverse or quanto product. Funding, collateral conversion, maintenance margin and settlement details require the actual contract model.
Questions about the model
How is margin different from profit and loss?
Initial margin is collateral required to open the position. Gross linear P&L is signed price movement divided by tick size, multiplied by tick value and contract count. Margin is not the purchase price, a fee or a maximum possible loss.
Where does the initial margin input come from?
Enter the current per-contract amount from your broker for the exact product and holding period. This page does not retrieve exchange or broker margin schedules, intraday concessions, portfolio offsets or maintenance requirements.
Why is ES one point worth more than one tick?
An outright ES tick is 0.25 index points and is worth USD 12.50 per contract. One full point contains four ticks, so it is worth USD 50. The calculator divides by tick size before multiplying by tick value.
Are the crypto presets exchange contract specifications?
No. They are explicitly labeled one-coin linear examples with assumed tick increments. They do not describe CME Bitcoin contracts, inverse contracts, perpetual funding or any particular exchange margin system. Use a contract-specific tool when the payoff or size differs.
Does the margin estimate include every account requirement?
No. Entered initial margin multiplied by contracts is an arithmetic scenario without offsets. It excludes maintenance and variation margin, fees beyond the entered trade cost, currency conversion and liquidation rules. Your broker determines actual requirements.