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SEBI F&O Loss Studies: FY22 to FY26, in One Place
Every number below comes from published SEBI studies — India's market regulator. No estimates, no vendor surveys. Sources linked at the bottom.
87.7%
of individual F&O traders in India incurred net losses in FY26[4]
Looking for the official SEBI study?
The “93%” finding is from SEBI's press release PR No. 22/2024 — “Analysis of Profits and Losses in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY22–FY24)”, published on sebi.gov.in on September 23, 2024. The FY25 figures (91% of traders, ₹1.06 lakh crore net losses) are from SEBI's July 2025 follow-up study. The earlier January 2023 study (89% in FY22) is here. The FY26 figures are from SEBI's August 2026 study (PDF). Every figure on this page traces to one of these four official documents.
Latest: SEBI FY26 study (August 2026)
SEBI's August 2026 study, “Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26)”, is the regulator's newest look at how individual traders fared in equity F&O.[4] The loss rate dipped, but roughly 9 out of 10 individual traders still lost money.
Individuals with net losses, FY26
87.7%
down from 90.9% in FY25
Aggregate net loss, FY26
₹91,685 cr
down 18% vs FY25
FY25 revised to ₹1.12 lakh crore
Average loss per person, FY26
₹1.17 lakh
₹1.13 lakh in FY25
Average loss among loss-makers
₹1.47 lakh
FY26
Share of losses from options
92%
of aggregate individual losses
Concentration of losses
~23%
of traders account for ~90% of losses
Transaction costs
~₹25,000 cr
paid in each of FY25 and FY26
Transaction costs, FY22–FY26
~₹1 lakh cr
cumulative
SEBI reports some tables as gross P&L (before transaction costs) and others as net P&L (after costs). The loss share and aggregate loss above are net figures, quoted in SEBI's own terms. In this study SEBI revised its FY25 aggregate net loss to ₹1.12 lakh crore, from ₹1,05,603 crore in its July 2025 study; the FY25 sections below keep the original July 2025 figures as history.[4]
FY26 in detail: who traded, what it cost, who profited
Active individual traders, FY26
87.5 lakh
down 18%
from 106.2 lakh in FY25
Loss-makers in futures, FY26
66.0%
vs 87.7% in options
STT paid by individuals, FY26
₹6,645 cr
up 35%
from ₹4,920 crore in FY25
Proprietary traders, gross profit FY26
~₹44,000 cr
before costs; individuals' gross loss ~₹72,000 cr
FY26 was the first year since FY16 that the trader base shrank: new entrants fell about 40% to 20.8 lakh, and nearly 46 lakh traders who traded in FY25 did not trade in FY26. Those who stayed lost more on average, and the average loss among loss-makers (₹1.47 lakh) was 21% higher than the average profit among profit-makers (₹1.22 lakh). Costs shifted towards statutory levies: from FY22 to FY26, STT's share of individual traders' transaction costs rose from 13% to 27%, while brokerage fell from 52% to 44%. On the other side of the trade, 99% of the gross profits of FPIs and proprietary traders were made by algo entities. SEBI's category-wise P&L figures are squared-off gross P&L, before transaction costs.[4]
Net losses, FY25
₹1.06 L cr
+41% vs FY24
₹1,05,603 crore after costs; revised to ₹1.12 lakh crore by SEBI in Aug 2026
Losses, FY22–FY24
₹1.8 L cr
93% of 1 crore+ traders lost
Average loss, FY25
₹1.1 lakh
per individual trader
Earned over ₹1 lakh
1 in 100
traders, after costs (FY22–24)
Losses are getting bigger, not smaller
Net losses of individual traders in equity derivatives rose 41% year-on-year — from ₹74,812 crore in FY24 to ₹1,05,603 crore in FY25 — even as the number of unique traders fell from 61.4 lakh in Q1 FY25 to 42.7 lakh in Q4 after SEBI's tightening measures.[2] Fewer traders, deeper losses. (SEBI later revised the FY25 figure to ₹1.12 lakh crore in its August 2026 study.[4])
Net losses of individual F&O traders (₹ crore)
Who is on the other side of the trade
In FY24, proprietary trading desks and foreign portfolio investors booked ₹33,000 crore and ₹28,000 crore in gross profits respectively, while individuals and others lost over ₹61,000 crore gross. 97% of FPI profits and 96% of proprietary profits came from algorithmic trading.[1]
FY24 gross trading P&L by participant
The loss rate barely moves
Four separate SEBI studies of individual traders' profits and losses in the equity F&O segment, from the January 2023 study to the August 2026 study covering FY26, give one consistent answer: roughly 9 out of 10 individual derivatives traders lose money.
The numbers behind the headline
Top 3.5% of loss-makers
₹28 lakh
average loss per person, FY22–24 (~4 lakh traders)
Transaction costs, FY22–24
₹50,000 cr
spent collectively — 51% brokerage, 20% exchange fees
Transaction costs per trader
₹26,000
average spent on F&O costs in FY24 alone
Loss-makers who keep trading
75%+
continued despite consecutive years of losses
Traders under 30
43%
up from 31% in FY23
share of F&O traders in FY24
From beyond top-30 cities
72%
of the F&O trader base (B30 cities)
Declared income under ₹5 lakh
75%+
of individual F&O traders in FY24
Unique traders, FY25
61.4L → 42.7L
Q1 to Q4 decline after SEBI measures
All figures: SEBI.[1][2] Cumulative FY22–FY25 net losses ≈ ₹2.86 lakh crore (₹1.8 lakh crore FY22–24 + ₹1.06 lakh crore FY25, computed from SEBI figures using the original FY25 number).
The most expensive statistic is behavioral
More than 75% of loss-making traders kept trading after consecutive losing years.[1] The loss rate has stayed near 90% across every study period — which suggests the problem is not access to information but behavior under risk: position sizing after losses, revenge trading, and overtrading.
That gap — between knowing the odds and acting on them — is measurable in an individual's own trade history. It is the reason trade journaling exists as a practice: not to predict markets, but to see your own patterns.
Two of those habits can be checked before a trade is placed. Size each position so a stop-loss costs a fixed small share of capital with the free position size calculator (it rounds F&O trades down to whole lots), and count costs before entry with the F&O charge calculator: SEBI puts individual traders' transaction costs at about ₹25,000 crore in FY26 alone.[4]
Citing this page
Journalists, bloggers, and researchers: all statistics here are from public SEBI documents and free to reuse. If this compilation saved you time, cite it as:
Frequently asked questions
What did SEBI’s FY26 study find?
SEBI’s August 2026 study, "Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26)", found that 87.7% of individual traders incurred net losses in FY26, down from 90.9% in FY25. Aggregate net losses fell 18% to ₹91,685 crore, from a revised ₹1.12 lakh crore in FY25. The average loss per person was ₹1.17 lakh (₹1.13 lakh in FY25), and ₹1.47 lakh among loss-makers. Options accounted for 92% of aggregate individual losses, and about 23% of traders accounted for about 90% of losses.
What percentage of F&O traders lose money in India?
According to SEBI’s August 2026 study, 87.7% of individual traders incurred net losses in the equity derivatives (F&O) segment in FY26, down from 90.9% in FY25. SEBI’s July 2025 study had put the FY25 figure at over 91%. SEBI’s September 2024 study found 93% of over 1 crore individual traders lost money across FY22–FY24, and its January 2023 study found 89% lost money in FY22. Across four separate SEBI studies, roughly 9 out of 10 individual F&O traders lose money.
How much money did Indian retail traders lose in F&O in FY25?
Individual traders lost a net ₹1,05,603 crore (about ₹1.06 lakh crore) in the equity derivatives segment in FY25, after transaction costs, a 41% increase over the ₹74,812 crore lost in FY24, per SEBI’s July 2025 study. The average individual trader lost about ₹1.1 lakh in FY25. In its August 2026 study, SEBI revised the FY25 aggregate net loss to ₹1.12 lakh crore.
Who actually makes money in Indian F&O markets?
In FY26, per SEBI’s August 2026 study, proprietary traders booked the highest gross trading profit, about ₹44,000 crore, followed by FPIs at about ₹14,000 crore, while the gross trading loss of individual traders narrowed to about ₹72,000 crore (gross means before transaction costs). 99% of FPI and proprietary profits were made by algo entities. SEBI’s FY24 analysis had found proprietary traders at ₹33,000 crore and FPIs at ₹28,000 crore in gross profits, with individuals and others losing over ₹61,000 crore gross.
Do losing traders stop trading F&O?
Mostly no. SEBI found that despite consecutive years of losses, more than 75% of loss-making traders continued trading in F&O. This persistence despite losses is a behavioral pattern — the gap between knowing the odds and acting on them.
Where is SEBI’s official F&O loss study?
On sebi.gov.in. The September 2024 findings ("93% of individual traders incurred losses") are in SEBI Press Release PR No. 22/2024, "Analysis of Profits and Losses in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY22–FY24)", published September 23, 2024. The FY25 figures are from SEBI’s July 2025 study on the equity derivatives segment, and the FY26 figures are from SEBI’s August 2026 study, "Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26)". All official pages are linked at the top of this page and in the sources section, and every figure here is drawn from them.
How many F&O traders are there in India?
SEBI’s August 2026 study counts 87.5 lakh active individual traders in equity derivatives in FY26, down 18% from 106.2 lakh in FY25 and the first year-on-year fall since FY16. New entrants fell about 40% to 20.8 lakh. Earlier, SEBI’s September 2024 study found over 1 crore individual traders traded equity F&O across FY22–FY24, and its July 2025 study reported unique individual traders declining from 61.4 lakh in Q1 FY25 to 42.7 lakh in Q4 FY25 after its tightening measures.
Can I cite these statistics?
Yes. All figures on this page come from published SEBI studies and press releases (linked in the sources section). You are free to cite this page with attribution — a link to cernoquant.com/statistics.
Sources
- SEBI Press Release PR No. 22/2024 — "Analysis of Profits and Losses in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY22–FY24)", September 23, 2024
- SEBI Study — "Comparative Study of Growth in Equity Derivatives Segment vis-à-vis Cash Market After Recent Measures", July 2025 (via SEBI Research)
- SEBI Study — "Analysis of Profit and Loss of Individual Traders dealing in Equity F&O Segment", January 2023
- SEBI Study: "Profitability of Individual Traders in the Equity Derivatives Segment (FY25–FY26)", August 2026 (PDF)
Figures verified against SEBI publications on July 11, 2026; FY26 figures added on October 23, 2026 from SEBI's August 2026 study. FY25 participation and loss figures as reported in SEBI's July 2025 study and the Ministry of Finance's December 2025 Lok Sabha reply.
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