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Aticker symbol orstock symbol is anabbreviation used to uniquely identify publicly tradedshares of a particularstock orsecurity on a particularstock exchange. Ticker symbols are arrangements of symbols or characters (generally Latin letters or digits) which provide a shorthand for investors to refer to, purchase, and research securities. Some exchanges include ticker extensions, which encode additional information such as share class, bankruptcy status, or voting rights into the ticker.[1]
The first ticker symbol was used in 1867, following the invention of the ticker tape machine byEdward Calahan. It was used to identify shares of theUnion Pacific Railroad Company.[2][3][4]
Stock symbols are unique identifiers assigned to each security traded on a particular market. A stock symbol can consist of letters, numbers, or a combination of both, and is a way to uniquely identify that stock. The symbols were kept as short as possible to reduce the number of characters that had to be printed on theticker tape, and to make it easy to recognize by traders and investors.
The allocation of symbols and formatting conventions is specific to each stock exchange. In the US, for example, stock tickers are typically between 1 and 4 letters and represent the company name where possible. For example, US-based computer company stockApple Inc. traded on theNASDAQ exchange has the symbol AAPL, while the motor company Ford's stock that is traded on theNew York Stock Exchange has the single-letter ticker F. In Europe, most exchanges use three-letter codes; for example, British-Dutch consumer goods companyUnilever traded on theAmsterdam Euronext exchange has the symbol UNA andLondon Stock Exchange has the symbol ULVR. In Asia, numbers are often used as stock tickers to avoid issues for international investors when using non-Latin scripts. For example, the bankHSBC's stock traded on theHong Kong Stock Exchange has the ticker symbol 5,New York Stock Exchange has the ticker symbol HSBC (bank abbreviation) andLondon Stock Exchange has the ticker HSBA.
Symbols sometimes change to reflect mergers. Prior to the 1999 merger withMobil Oil,Exxon used a phonetic spelling of the company "XON" as its ticker symbol. The symbol of the firm after the merger was "XOM". Symbols are sometimes reused. In the US the single-letter symbols are particularly sought after as vanity symbols. For example, since March 2008Visa Inc. has used the symbol V that had previously been used byVivendi which had delisted and given up the symbol.[5]
To fully qualify a stock, both the ticker and the exchange or country of listing needs to be known. On many systems both must be specified to uniquely identify the security. This is often done by appending the location or exchange code to the ticker.
| Location | Reuters Instrument Code | Bloomberg ticker | Yahoo ticker |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Stock Exchange | VOD.L | VOD:LN | VOD.L |
| Nasdaq | VOD.O or VOD.OQ | VOD:US | VOD |
| Stock Exchange of Singapore | VOD.SI | VOD:SP | VOD.SI |
Although stock tickers identify a security, they are exchange-dependent, generally limited to stocks, and can change. These limitations have led to the development of other codes in financial markets to identify securities forsettlement purposes. The most prevalent of these is theInternational Securities Identifying Number (ISIN).[6] An ISIN uniquely identifies asecurity and its structure is defined inISO 6166. Securities for which ISINs are issued includebonds,commercial paper,stocks, andwarrants. The ISIN code is a 12-character alpha-numerical code that does not contain information characterizing financial instruments, but serves for uniform identification of a security at trading and settlement.
The ISIN identifies the security, not theexchange (if any) on which it trades; it is, therefore, not a replacement for the ticker symbol.[7] For instance,Mercedes-Benz Group stock trades on twenty-two different stock exchanges worldwide and is priced in five foreign currencies; it has the same ISIN on each (DE0007100000), though not the same ticker symbol. ISIN cannot specify a particular trade in this case, and another identifier, typically the three- or four-letter exchange code (such as theMarket Identifier Code), will have to be specified in addition to the ISIN.
While usually a stock ticker identifies a security that can be traded,stock market indices are also sometimes assigned a symbol, even though they can generally not be traded. Symbols for indices are usually distinguished by adding a symbol in front of the name, such as acircumflex (or 'caret')^ or a dot.[8] For example,Reuters lists theNasdaq Composite index under the symbol.IXIC.[9]
In Australia theAustralian Securities Exchange uses the following conventions:Three character base symbol with the first and third character being alphanumeric and the second alphabetic. ETFs and ETMFs can be either 3 or 4 characters. Exchange-traded warrants and exchange-traded options are six characters. ETOs can have numbers in the sixth character.[10]
| D[A–Z] | Deferred settlement security, temporary code used typically during a consolidation/reverse split. Used for both Equities and Company Options. |
| H[A–Z] | Bonds/Debt |
| F[A-Z][A–Z] | Exchanged-traded Warrants |
| G or G[A–Z] | Convertible Debt |
| H or H[A–Z] | Unsecured Note |
| I[A–Z][A–Z] | Instalment Warrant |
| LV | Non-Voting or Limited Voting |
| O or O[A–G] | Company option |
| P[A–Z] | Preference/Interest Bearing security |
| R or R[A–Z] | Company rights |
| W[A–Z][A–Z] | Exchanged-traded Warrants |
| U[A–Z][A–Z] | Exchanged-traded Warrants |
| V[A–Z][A–Z] | Exchanged-traded Warrants |
In Canada theToronto Stock Exchange TSX and the TSXV use the following special codes after the ticker symbol:
| A–B – class of shares | NO, NS, NT – notes | S – special U.S. terms |
| DB – debenture | P – Capital Pool Company | U, V – U.S. funds |
| E – equity dividend | PR – preferred | UN – units |
| H – NEX market | R – subscription receipts | W – when issued |
| IR – installment receipts | RT – rights | WT – warrants |
In theUnited Kingdom, prior to 1996, stock codes were known as EPICs, named after theLondon Stock Exchange'sExchange Price Information Computer (e.g.: "MKS" forMarks and Spencer). Following the introduction of theSequence trading platform in 1996, EPICs were renamedTradable Instrument Display Mnemonics (TIDM), but they are still widely referred to as EPICs. Stocks can also be identified using theirSEDOL (Stock Exchange Daily Official List) number or their ISIN (International Securities Identification Number).
In theUnited States, modern letter-only ticker symbols were developed byStandard & Poor's (S&P) to bring a national standard to investing. Previously, a single company could have many ticker symbols as they varied between the dozens of individual stock markets. The termticker refers to the noise made by theticker tape machines once widely used by stock exchanges.
The S&P system was later standardized by the securities industry and modified as the years passed. Stock symbols forpreferred stock have not been standardized.[12]
Some companies use a well-known product as their ticker symbol. Belgian brewerAB InBev, the brewer ofBudweiser beer, uses "BUD" (symbolizing its premier product in the United States) as its three-letter ticker for American Depository Receipts. Its rival, theMolson Coors Brewing Company, uses a similarly beer-related symbol, "TAP". Likewise,Southwest Airlines pays tribute to its headquarters atLove Field inDallas through its "LUV" symbol.Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, which operates large amusement parks in the United States, uses "FUN" as its symbol.Acushnet Company uses "GOLF," as the company sells products related with golf.Harley-Davidson uses "HOG", an abbreviation for the corporate-sponsoredHarley Owners Group.[13]Yamana Gold uses "AUY", because on theperiodic table of elements, "Au" is the symbol forgold.Sotheby's, an auction house, previously used the symbol "BID".[14]Petco uses the symbol "WOOF," referencing a dog's bark (even though the corporate logo features both a dog and a cat).
While most symbols come from the company's name, sometimes it happens the other way around.Tricon Global, owner ofKFC,Pizza Hut andTaco Bell, adopted the symbol "YUM" to represent its corporate mission when the company was spun out ofPepsiCo in 1997. In 2002, the company changed its name to match its symbol, adopting the nameYum! Brands.[15]
Symbols sometimes change to reflect mergers. Before the 1999 merger withMobil,Exxon used a phonetic spelling of the company "XON" as its ticker symbol.[16] The symbol of the firm after the merger was "XOM". AfterHewlett-Packard merged withCompaq, the new firm took on the ticker symbol "HPQ". (The former symbols were HWP and CPQ.)AT&T's ticker symbol is "T"; accordingly, the company is referred to simply as "Telephone" on Wall Street (the T symbol is so well known that when SBC purchased the company, it took the AT&T name, capitalizing on its history and keeping the desired single letter symbol).[citation needed]
Some examples of US Stock symbols include:
Formerly, a glance at a U.S. stock symbol and its appended codes would allow an investor to determine where a stock trades; however, in July 2007, the SEC approved a rule change allowing companies moving from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq to retain their three-letter symbols;DirecTV was one of the first companies to make this move. When first implemented, the rule change did not apply to companies with one or two-letter symbols,[17] but subsequently any stock was able to move from the NYSE to the Nasdaq without changing its symbol.CA Technologies, which traded under the symbol CA before it was acquired byBroadcom Inc. in 2018, moved from the NYSE to the Nasdaq in April 2008 and kept its two-letter symbol.[18]
| A – Class "A" | K – Nonvoting (common) | U –Units |
| B – Class "B" | L – Miscellaneous | V – Pending issue and distribution |
| C – NextShares | M – fourth class –preferred shares | W –Warrants |
| D – New issue or reverse split | N – third class – preferred shares | X –Mutual fund |
| E – DelinquentSEC filings | O – second class – preferred shares | Y –American depositary receipt (ADR) (used on theover-the-counter market) |
| F – Foreign (used on theover-the-counter market) | P – first class preferred shares | Z – Miscellaneous situations |
| G – firstconvertible bond | Q – Inbankruptcy | Special codes |
| H – second convertible bond | R –Rights | PK – APink Sheet, indicatingover-the-counter |
| I – third convertible bond | S – Shares ofbeneficial interest | SC – Nasdaq Small Cap |
| J – Voting share – special | T – With warrants or rights | NM – Nasdaq National Market |
Unassigned letters:
Unassigned letters:
In countries whereArabic script is used, and inEast Asia, transliteratedLatin script versions of company names may be confusing to an unpracticed Western reader; stock symbols provide a simple means of clear communication in the workplace. Many Asian countries use numerical or alphanumerical ticker symbols of only digits and Roman letters to facilitate international trade.
Market Indices, such as theDow Jones Industrial Average. Ticker symbols for these items all begin with the circumflex (caret) symbol, '^'.
