How to Read Stock Quotes - Both Online and in the Newspaper

There are several different kinds of stock quotes. Technically, each stock has a set of quotes at any given time. These are the bid price and the ask price. More commonly, quotes are listed as the "last price," meaning the last price at which the stock was traded.

In the past, it was very difficult to find quotes. Many small investors had to hunt down a Wall Street Journal or New York Times business section in order to see how their investments were doing. Now, quotes are easy to find. This article is intended to help people find and read quotes, both in the newspaper and on the internet.

But First... Back to the Bid and Ask - Dual Stock Quotes

As previously mentioned, each stock has a pair of quotes, the bid and ask. This is because shares of stock aren't really traded between individuals, they go through intermediaries known as market makers or specialists.

These Wall Street professionals profit by small differences in the bid and ask, which is known as the "spread." For example, a stock with a "last" price of $26.55 might have a bid of $26.52 and an ask of $26.58 - the bid is the price the market maker is willing to pay for the stock, and the ask is how much they're willing to sell it for.

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