Learn
Bid and offer
The best price a buyer will pay right now, and the best price a seller will accept.
The gap between them is the spread. On busy shares it is tiny; on quiet ones it can be several percent.
More terms
- Price to earnings (P/E)The share price divided by the profit per share: how many years of today’s profit you pay for.
- Dividend yieldThe dividends paid over the last year as a percentage of today’s share price.
- Ex-dividend dateThe first day a share trades without its next dividend.
- Payout ratioThe share of its profit a company pays out as dividends.
- Market value (market capitalisation)The share price times the number of shares: what the market says the whole company is worth.
- IndexOne number that tracks a basket of shares, so you can see how a whole market or sector is doing.
- Every term ↗
The Monday briefCommerce, in your inbox.
Every Monday: last week’s moves in JSE commerce, your own shares, and the results and numbers due this week. Free, and you can unsubscribe any time.
We don’t take outside money, but we always like talking markets and commerce.
For media, research and partnership questions, send us an email.