ticker

Ticker is a term with multiple related meanings in finance, communications, and computing. In finance, a ticker refers to the system that provides real-time price quotes for securities. The word derives from the ticker tape machine, an early device that printed price data on a narrow paper strip.

A ticker symbol is the code used to identify a security on an exchange. Symbols are typically composed of letters and may include punctuation or suffixes to denote share class or market (for example, AAPL for Apple, MSFT for Microsoft, BRK.B for Berkshire Hathaway class B). The symbol is used in trading, quoting, and financial news to identify the instrument.

Ticker tape originally referred to the stream of printed data from stock exchanges; the device printed quotes on paper and was celebrated in ticker tape parades. Today, the term often denotes the live feed or stream of price data, as shown on financial terminals and websites.

In computing and electronics, a ticker can also mean a timer that generates periodic events, commonly called a tick. Timers and game loops rely on ticks to advance time, schedule tasks, or refresh displays. The concept of a tick is fundamental to timekeeping and event scheduling across many software and hardware systems.