paper profit

noun

: a profit that can be realized only by selling something (such as a security) that has appreciated in market value

Examples of paper profit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Remove the paper profit from that St James’ Park ‘sale’ and Newcastle lost £254m in four seasons. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026

Instead of repaying the loans, borrowers just gave their properties to the bank, which sold them to other banks at a paper profit, according to Namazi. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2026

Stock prices and business valuations go down as well as up — $1 in on-paper profit today could be $5 in real-world losses tomorrow. — Nr Editors, National Review, 31 Mar. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for paper profit

• nonprofit
• prophet
• soffit