uPnL stands for unrealized profit and loss — the percentage gain or loss of a timing signal that is still open. On Balance Labs scanner tables and comparison pages it appears next to the signal's direction and age, like this: LONG · 314 bars · uPnL +140.3%. The bars count how many periods the signal has been open; the uPnL measures how far price has moved in the signal's favor since it fired. Until the signal exits, the number is unrealized — it changes with every scan.
uPnL is the live, open move of the current signal. Total return is the closed result of what a completed signal delivered. A fresh signal can show a small uPnL while an older one on the same ticker carries a large number — both are descriptions of state, not forecasts of what comes next.
As an input to a workflow, never as a standalone instruction. The Balance Labs order of operations is: quality score → valuation ceiling vs today's price → thesis-break conditions → only then timing signals (where uPnL and signal age live). A large positive uPnL on an old signal is as much a caution — the move already happened — as it is an endorsement.
Every stock comparison and decision brief shows the current signal with its uPnL and age in a dated snapshot table — for example VRT vs OKTA. Run any pair through the free intrinsic value calculator to put quality and valuation before timing. More on the workflow: tools FAQ · stock screener guide.
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