What Is a Quote?
In securities trading, a quote is the pair of prices at which a security can be bought and sold at a given moment. It has two parts: the bid price, the highest price a buyer is currently willing to pay, and the ask price, the lowest price a seller is currently willing to accept. Quotes appear on trading screens and change constantly as orders are entered, canceled, or filled.
How Quotes Work
Quotes are formed by standing orders in the market. A buyer who posts a limit order below the current selling prices adds to the bid side, while a seller who posts above the buying prices adds to the ask side. When a buy order meets a sell order at a matching price, a trade occurs and the quote updates. Market makers and other liquidity providers often post prices on both sides so they are ready to trade.
The gap between the two prices is the bid-ask spread. A narrow spread generally suggests a security is actively traded, while a wide spread can indicate lower trading activity or more uncertainty. Quotes differ from the last sale price, which reports the price of the most recent completed trade.
Quotes also come in different levels of detail. A basic quote shows the best bid and ask along with their sizes, meaning the number of shares available at each price. A fuller view, often called a Level 2 quote or order book, shows several price levels on each side, giving a sense of market depth.
Why Quotes Matter to Investors
Quotes show what it would cost to trade right now, which is useful when placing orders. A buyer using a market order typically fills near the ask, and a seller typically fills near the bid, so the spread is a real cost of trading. Because quotes move quickly, especially in fast markets or around news, the price on the screen may differ from the price eventually received. Looking at both sides of a quote, rather than a single headline price, gives a fuller picture of current conditions.
Updated October 27, 2026. For general education only; not financial, tax or legal advice.