A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a mnemonic used to uniquely identify publicly-traded shares of a corporation on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both. The word "ticker" used to mean "ticker symbol" is specific to U.S. stock symbols. Not to be confused with pneumonic. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... “Corporate” redirects here. ... A stock market is a market for the trading of company stock, and derivatives of same; both of these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately. ... A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a shorthand code used to uniquely identify shares of a publicly-traded corporation on a particular stock market. ...

U.S stock symbol history

In the United States, modern letter-only ticker symbols were developed by Standard & Poor's (S&P) to bring a national standard to investing. Previously, a single company could have many different ticker symbols as they varied between the dozens of individual stock markets. The term ticker refers to the noise made by the ticker tape machines once widely used by stock exchanges. Publications Standard & Poors publishes a weekly (48 times a year) stock market analysis newsletter called The Outlook, which is issued both in print and online to subscribers. ... Stock Ticker working replica Ticker tape was used by ticker tape machines, the Ticker tape timer, stock ticker machines, or just stock tickers. ...

The S&P system was later standardized by the securities industry and modified as years passed. Stock symbols for preferred stock have not been standardized [1]. A preferred stock, also known as a preferred share or simply a preferred, is a share of stock carrying additional rights above and beyond those conferred by common stock. ...

Examples of U.S. stock symbols

• A - Agilent Technologies
• BRK.A - Berkshire Hathaway (class A shares)
• KO - Coca-Cola Company
• MSFT - Microsoft
• TGT - Target Corporation
• IFX - Infineon Technologies
• WMT - Wal-Mart
• QI - Qimonda

Currently a glance at a U.S. stock symbol and its appended codes can tell an investor where a stock trades and may give insight to the company's performance. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is an American stock exchange situated in New York. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is an American stock exchange situated in New York. ... NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... Agilent Technologies NYSE: A is the actual descendant of the instrument company founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. ... Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA, NYSE: BRKB) is a holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. ... The Coca-Cola Companys headquarters in Atlanta, GA. The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is an international beverage and food manufacturer whose headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States of America. ... Microsoft Corporation, (NASDAQ: MSFT, HKSE: 4338) is a multinational computer technology corporation with global annual revenue of US$44. ... This article is about the United States retail company. ... Infineon Technologies AG (ISIN: DE0006231004, FWB: IFX, NYSE: IFX) was founded in April 1999 when the semiconductor operations of parent company, Siemens AG, were spun off to form a separate legal entity. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... Qimonda AG (NYSE: QI), (pronounced key-MON-duh) is the new memory company split out of Infineon Technologies AG on May 1, 2006, to form the third largest DRAM company worldwide, according to the industry research firm Gartner Dataquest. ...

Single-letter ticker symbols

• A: Agilent Technologies
• B: Barnes Group
• C: Citigroup
• D: Dominion Resources
• E: Eni SpA
• F: Ford Motor Company
• G: Genpact
• H: Realogy Corp.
• K: Kellogg
• M: Macy's, Inc.
• O: Realty Income Corporation
• Q: Qwest Communications International Inc.
• R: Ryder System Inc.
• S: Sprint Nextel
• T: AT&T
• X: United States Steel
• Y: Alleghany Corporation

Agilent Technologies NYSE: A is the actual descendant of the instrument company founded by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. ... Citigroup Inc. ... Dominion NYSE: D (formerly Dominion Resources) is a power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, USA, that supplies electricity, natural gas, or other energy services to homes in Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and eastern North Carolina. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation and the worlds third largest automaker based on worldwide vehicle sales. ... Genpact is a BPO company in India. ... Realogy (NYSE: H) is a real estate services company that owns and franchises several well-known real estate brands. ... Kellogg Company (often referred to as simply Kellogg or Kelloggs) is an American multinational producer of breakfast foods, snack foods, cookies, and crackers, with corporate headquarters in Battle Creek, Michigan, USA. Kellogg trades under the ticker symbol NYSE: K. Revenues in 2006 were $10. ... This article is about the former Federated Department Stores. ... Public (NYSE: O) Realty Income Corporation is a real estate company based in Escondido, California. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ryder NYSE: R is a popular truck rental and leasing company for companies distribution and supply chain efforts. ... Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. ... AT&T Inc. ... The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States and Central Europe. ... Alleghany Corporation was incorporated by the railroad entrepreneurs Oris and Mantis Van Sweringen as a holding company for their interests. ...

Interpreting the symbol

Stock symbols are unique identifiers assigned to each security traded on a market. NASDAQ symbols are four or five characters in length, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) symbols are one to three characters long, American Stock Exchange (AMEX) symbols are two or three characters, and Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) symbols are four or five. These letter counts apply to the underlying company, but not always to the entire stock symbol. For example, PCG is the three letter symbol for Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which trades on the NYSE. But PCG-D is Pacific Gas & Electric's preferred D shares, which trade on the AMEX. NASDAQ in Times Square, New York City. ... The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the Big Board, is a New York City-based stock exchange. ... New York Stock Exchange (June 2003) The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world. ... The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) is an American stock exchange situated in New York. ... The OTC Bulletin Board is a regulated quotation service in the United States, owned by the NASD, for stocks that are not listed on one of the major U.S. stock exchanges. ... The OTC Bulletin Board is a stock market for companies to list shares which either do not meet the capitalization, ownership, or other requirements of major stock exchanges, or for companies who do not choose to have their shares listed on such exchanges. ...

Some companies use a well-known product as their ticker symbol. Anheuser-Busch, the brewers of Budweiser beer, uses "BUD" as its three-letter ticker, symbolising its premier product. Genentech uses the symbol "DNA," relating to their biochemical research, while Southwest Airlines pays tribute to its headquarters at Love Field in Dallas through its "LUV" symbol. Steinway Musical uses the symbol "LVB", to honor their favorite composer and pianist (Ludwig van Beethoven.) Starting August 27, 2007, Sun Microsystems uses the symbol "JAVA" for its Java programming language. Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. ... Genentech, Inc. ... The structure of part of a DNA double helix Deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA, is a nucleic acid molecule that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. ... Southwest Airlines, Inc. ... Dallas Love Field (IATA: DAL, ICAO: KDAL, FAA LID: DAL) is a public airport located five miles (8 km) northwest of the central business district (CBD) of the City of Dallas, in Dallas County, Texas, USA. The airport covers 1,300 acres and has three runways. ... Dallas redirects here. ...

Prior to the 1999 merger with Mobil Oil, Exxon used a phonetic spelling of the company "XON" as its ticker symbol. The new firm is known as "XOM" (see Hewlett-Packard). AT&T's ticker symbol is simply "T"; accordingly, the company is referred to simply as "Telephone" on Wall Street (the T symbol is so well-known that when the company was purchased by SBC, it took the AT&T name to capitalize on its history and to obtain the desired single letter symbol). AT&T Inc. ...

After Hewlett-Packard merged with Compaq computer, the new firm took on the ticker symbol "HPQ". (The former firms were HWP and CPQ.) The Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HPQ), commonly known as HP, is a very large, global company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, United States. ... Compaq Computer Corporation is an American personal computer company founded in 1982, and now a brand name of Hewlett-Packard. ...

A preferred stock, also known as a preferred share or simply a preferred, is a share of stock carrying additional rights above and beyond those conferred by common stock. ... For other uses of the term Warrant, see Warrant (disambiguation) A warrant is a security that entitles the holder to buy or sell a certain additional quantity of an underlying security. ... A mutual fund is a form of collective investments that pools money from many investors and invests their money in stocks, bonds, short-term money market instruments, and/or other securities. ... An SEC filing is financial statement or other formal document submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ... An American Depositary Receipt (ADR) is how the stock of most foreign companies trades in United States stock markets. ... A convertible bond, or convertible debenture, is a type of bond that can be converted into shares of stock in the issuing company, usually at some pre-announced ratio. ... Notice of closure stuck on the door of a computer store the day after its parent company, Granville Technology Group Ltd, declared bankruptcy (strictly, put into administration—see text) in the United Kingdom. ... Pink Sheets is an electronic system, published by Pink Sheets LLC, to display bid and ask quotation prices. ... Over-the-counter (OTC) trading is to trade financial instruments such as stocks, bonds, or derivatives directly between two parties. ...

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, prior to 1996, stock codes were known as EPICs, named after the London Stock Exchange's Exchange Price Information Computer (e.g.: "MKS" for Marks and Spencer). Following the introduction of the Sequence trading platform in 1996 EPICs were renamed Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics (TIDM), but they are still widely referred to as EPICs. Stocks can also be identified using their Stock Exchange Daily Official List (SEDOL) number. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... The Source by Greyworld, in the new LSE building Paternoster Square. ... Marks and Spencer plc (known also as M&S and sometimes colloquially as Marks and Sparks) is the largest retailer in the United Kingdom by sales. ... SEDOL stands for Stock Exchange Daily Official List, a list of security identifiers used in England and Ireland for clearing purposes. ...

International

Stock symbols are indispensable for stock market work in non-European countries. In countries where Arabic script is used, and in East Asia, translated Roman 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. The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing the Arabic language, which is the language of the Quran, the holy book of Islam. ... East Asia Geographic East Asia. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. ...

See also

• Option symbol

An option symbol is a code by which options are identified on a futures exchange. ...

References

• Eckett, Stephen (ed.) (2004), The UK Stock Market Almanac 2005, Petersfield, Harriman House. ISBN 1-897597-46-0

External links

• Nasdaq glossary
• List of Stocks Traded on London Stock Exchange
• Stock Symbol Lookup - Yahoo
• Stock Symbol Lookup - U.S. Companies on MSN Money