paper profit
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of paper profit
First recorded in 1890–95
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The government’s $11.1 billion Intel investment in August 2025 yielded a $40 billion paper profit as shares rose nearly 370%.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
The shares have since fallen, but he’s still sitting on a paper profit of about $120 and doesn’t plan to sell.
From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2021
And this July, when Hilton’s stock closed at $24.80, Gray and Nassetta had officially transformed Hilton into the most lucrative private equity deal ever, with a paper profit of $12 billion.
From BusinessWeek • Sep. 11, 2014
He already has a massive paper profit on his 9.7 percent stake in Allergan, built over February and March.
From Reuters • Apr. 22, 2014
Teasing you along, letting you pile up a little paper profit, then bang!
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
