What is a financial quote?

In investing, a quote is the bid price or ask price for a stock. The bid quote shows the highest price and quantity at which a buyer is willing to buy, while the ask price indicates the lowest price a seller will accept.

Where have you heard about financial quotes?

Quote is a familiar term to investors. Quotes are necessary to let traders know about the prices of stocks and other securities. They’re available directly from exchanges online, or via financial and media websites.

What you need to know about financial quotes.

Quotes give traders and investors a basic idea of how a security is faring, but the information contained in them can be somewhat limited. For instance, a quote might not disclose who is bidding for the stock offering, whether there are limit orders placed on the security or what the size of the potential trades at a particular price are.

While the term quote specifically relates to the bid or ask price, it might also be used in a broader sense to refer to the last price at which the security traded.

Find out more about financial quotes.

Read our definition of stock quote for more insight into buying and selling shares.