Stock Symbol

Stock symbol refers to the identifying letter code for a security to trade on an exchange or over the counter or through an electronic trading system. "Stock symbol" is often used interchangeably with "stock ticker," or "ticker symbol." The New York Stock Exchange assigns a stock symbol with up to three letters. Each stock symbol on American Stock Exchange has three letters stock and each stock symbol on NASDAQ has four letters. NASDAQ also uses a fifth letter to differentiate certain classes of stock. International exchanges also assign a lettered stock symbol or a numbered code to identify securities. A stock symbol can be seen as more than an abbreviation, but a clever advertisement or witty description, such as BUD for Anheuser Busch, FON for Sprint, SUIT for Mens Warehouse, and ZEUS for Olympic Steel.