Learn the basics

Every number on StockIt, in plain English. On a ticker page you can also tap the small information next to any label.

Price and trading

Open: The price of the first trade when the market opened today.
Previous close: Yesterday's final price. Today's change is measured from it.
Day high and low: The highest and lowest prices the stock traded at today.
Volume: How many shares changed hands today. Unusually high volume means more interest than normal.
Average volume: The typical number of shares traded per day, averaged over recent months.
52-week range: The lowest and highest prices over the past year. It shows where today's price sits in that span.
Market hours: US exchanges trade 9:30 am to 4:00 pm New York time on weekdays. Prices can still move a little before and after.
Market cap: The total value of all the company's shares: share price times number of shares. A quick measure of size.

P/E ratio: Price divided by the last 12 months of profit per share. Higher means investors pay more for each dollar of profit.
Forward P/E: Like P/E, but using analysts' estimate of next year's profit instead of last year's.
Price to sales: Company value divided by a year of revenue. Useful when a company has no profit yet.
Price to book: Share price divided by the accounting value of the company's net assets per share.
Enterprise value: Market cap plus debt minus cash. Roughly what it would cost to buy the whole business.
EV to revenue: Enterprise value divided by a year of revenue. Compares companies that carry different amounts of debt.
EV to EBITDA: Enterprise value divided by operating earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation. A common way to compare prices.

EPS: Earnings per share: the company's profit divided by its number of shares, here over the last 12 months.
Revenue: Total sales over the last 12 months, before any costs are subtracted.
Revenue growth: How much revenue grew compared with the same period a year earlier.
Net income: Profit left after every cost, interest payment and tax, over the last 12 months.
Gross margin: The share of revenue left after the direct cost of making the product or service.
Operating margin: The share of revenue left after running costs like salaries and rent, before interest and taxes.
Profit margin: The share of revenue that ends up as final profit. 20% means 20 cents of profit per dollar of sales.
Return on equity: A year of profit divided by the shareholders' money in the business. Shows how efficiently that money is used.
Return on assets: A year of profit divided by everything the company owns.
Operating cash flow: Cash the day-to-day business brought in over the last 12 months.
Free cash flow: Cash left after running the business and paying for new investment. It can fund dividends, buybacks or debt repayment.
Total cash: Cash and short-term investments the company holds.
Total debt: Money the company has borrowed and must pay back.

Shares outstanding: The total number of the company's shares held by investors.
Float: Shares that can actually be traded, excluding those held by insiders.
Insider ownership: The share of stock owned by executives, directors and founders.
Institutional ownership: The share of stock owned by funds, banks and other large investors.
Dividend yield: The yearly cash dividend as a percentage of the share price.

Next earnings: When the company is expected to report its next quarterly results. Prices often move sharply around this date.
Earnings surprise: How far reported profit per share landed above or below what analysts expected.
Analyst ratings: How professional analysts rate the stock, from Strong Buy to Strong Sell. Ratings are opinions, not guarantees.
Price target: Where analysts expect the price to be in about a year. Targets are often wrong.

Beta: How much the stock tends to move compared with the whole market. 1 means about the same; 2 means roughly twice as much.
RSI: Relative Strength Index, from 0 to 100. Above 70 often follows a fast rise; below 30 often follows a fast fall.
Moving average: The average closing price over the last N days. It smooths out daily noise so the trend is easier to see.
Support: A price level where the stock has repeatedly stopped falling in the past.
Resistance: A price level where the stock has repeatedly stopped rising in the past.
Chart pattern: A shape traders look for on price charts, like a double top. Patterns hint at possible moves but fail often.

Moat: A lasting advantage that protects a company from competitors, like a strong brand or a network effect.
Catalyst: An upcoming event that could move the price, such as an earnings report or a product launch.
Bull case: The optimistic scenario: what could go right and how the stock might react.
Bear case: The pessimistic scenario: what could go wrong and how the stock might react.
Red flag: A warning sign in the numbers that deserves a closer look.