Glossary
Glossary
The Glossary is a growing set of short entries (350-550 words each) for terms used across the site. Each entry defines the term plainly, shows the arithmetic where it helps, and links into the longer articles where the idea matters.
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What Is Market Cap?
Market cap is a company's share price times its shares outstanding. How it's calculated, what float-adjusted means, and what market cap does not tell you.
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What Is a Blue-Chip Stock?
A blue-chip stock is a share in a large, long-established, financially strong company. Where the term comes from, what it does and doesn't mean, and why blue chips can still fail.
Read the explainer →What Is Beta?
Beta measures how sensitive a stock's returns are to moves in the overall market. How to read a beta of 0.5, 1 or 1.5, how it's calculated, and what beta leaves out.
Read the explainer →What Is Earnings Per Share (EPS)?
Earnings per share is a company's profit divided by its shares. How basic and diluted EPS are calculated, GAAP vs adjusted EPS, and what EPS can hide.
Read the explainer →What Is Dividend Yield?
Dividend yield is a stock's annual dividends divided by its share price. How to calculate it, trailing vs forward yield, and why a high yield can be a warning sign.
Read the explainer →What Is an ETF?
An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund that holds a basket of investments and trades on a stock exchange like a share. How ETFs work, where they started, and what to check before buying one.
Read the explainer →What Is Liquidity?
Liquidity is how easily you can buy or sell a stock quickly without moving its price. How to judge it from volume, spreads and depth, with a worked example of what thin liquidity costs.
Read the explainer →What Is a Short Squeeze?
A short squeeze is a rapid price rise that forces short sellers to buy back shares, pushing the price higher still. How squeezes start, a worked example, and what GameStop showed.
Read the explainer →What Is an Expense Ratio?
An expense ratio is the yearly cost of owning a fund, shown as a percentage of your investment. How it's charged, MERs in Canada, and what a 1% fee costs over 30 years.
Read the explainer →What Is the S&P 500?
The S&P 500 is a stock index of 500 leading US companies, weighted by float-adjusted market cap. How companies get in, how the weighting works, and what the index does not cover.
Read the explainer →What Is a Ticker Symbol?
A ticker symbol is the short code that identifies a listed security on an exchange. How tickers are formatted in the US and Canada, and why you should check one before you trade.
Read the explainer →What Is Volatility?
Volatility measures how much and how quickly a stock or index price swings. How it's calculated, historical vs implied volatility, the VIX, and why volatility is not the same as risk.
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