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StocksGlossary

Ticker symbol

A ticker symbol is the short letter code that identifies a traded stock. What tickers look like, what suffixes mean, and how to avoid a wrong-symbol order.

Also called: stock symbol, ticker

By The Token Thesis Desk2 min read3 cited sources

A large metal letter N on a plain background
“Blue Queenstown Block Letter “N”” by Unknown — CC BY-SA 4.0 (edited: cropped, recolored)

Quick answer

A ticker symbol is a short abbreviation, usually one to five letters in the U.S., that identifies a publicly traded stock. You use it to look up quotes and to place orders, so typing the right symbol matters.

What is a ticker symbol?#

Investor.gov explains that each publicly traded U.S. common stock has a short abbreviation that identifies it, known as its stock symbol or stock ticker symbol[1]. Some stocks have single-letter symbols while others may have up to five[1]. It is the code used on quote screens and order tickets.

Extra letters can carry meaning. Investor.gov notes that a "Q" after a ticker signifies the company is in bankruptcy[1], and FINRA says a fifth-letter Q often denotes bankruptcy status[2]. Exchanges also publish suffix conventions for things like share classes and preferred shares; Nasdaq's reference table, for example, shows a Class A share with a ".A" suffix in some data formats and a plain "A" in another[3]. Formats differ between data systems and brokers, and rules differ by country.

Why can the wrong symbol cost you?#

FINRA warns that U.S. common stock symbols can contain up to five letters and might resemble the name of more than one company, and advises making sure the symbol you enter corresponds to the company whose shares you intended to buy[2].

Worked example

One letter, a different company

You mean to buy 10 shares of a hypothetical company at $42.50 but type a similar symbol that belongs to another company trading at $3.15. If that order fills, you own shares of the wrong company and must sell them to undo the mistake.

OrderPrice per shareCost of 10 shares
Intended company$42.50$425.00
Similar-looking symbol$3.15$31.50

Figures computed in code from the stated inputs; rounded to the nearest cent or tenth.

Where will you see this term?#

On every quote page, in news headlines and on your order screen. Before placing an order, check that the company name next to the symbol is the one you expect, then choose an order type — see market vs limit orders. For how quotes and orders travel, read how stock exchanges work; for what the symbol actually represents, see what a stock is.

Sources

Numbers in brackets in the text point here. Grade A = primary source (regulator, statistics agency, law or official document).

  1. 1
    Ticker (glossary)U.S. SEC — Investor.gov (n.d.) · Grade A
  2. 2
  3. 3
    CQS Symbol ConventionNasdaq Trader (n.d.) · Grade A

How we checked this note

Every number, date and rule above links to its source. This note cites 3 sources, 3 of them primary (Grade A). Worked examples were calculated in code, and a second editor compared each figure with its source before publishing. Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections are listed on the note. Read our editorial policy.