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Market terms, compared

9 pairs that come up when researching listed consumer companies, each answered in one sentence and then in full.

  • NYSE vs Nasdaq
    The NYSE is a 1792 exchange with a trading floor and one designated market maker per stock. Nasdaq, from 1971, was the first electronic market and has no floor.
  • Consumer staples vs Consumer discretionary
    Consumer staples are what people buy whatever the economy does: food, drink, toiletries. Discretionary is what they can put off: cars, clothes, travel.
  • ADR vs Ordinary shares
    Ordinary shares trade on a company's home exchange in local currency. An ADR is a US bank's receipt for some of those shares, traded in dollars.
  • Alternative data vs Traditional data
    Traditional data is what a company reports: filings and earnings. Alternative data is anything else that tracks the business, like card spend or social posts.
  • 10-K vs 10-Q
    A 10-K is a US company's audited annual report to the SEC. A 10-Q is the shorter, unaudited quarterly report, filed for the first three quarters of the year.
  • Social sentiment vs News sentiment
    Social sentiment scores what investors post on StockTwits, Reddit and X. News sentiment scores what journalists write. One is the crowd, the other the press.
  • StockTwits vs Reddit
    StockTwits is a social network built around ticker symbols, with a sentiment score per stock. Reddit is a forum of communities like r/wallstreetbets.
  • Alternative data vs Fundamental analysis
    Fundamental analysis values a company from its filings: revenue, profit, debt, cash flow. Alternative data is outside activity seen between filings.
  • Attention vs Sentiment
    Attention is how many people watch and post about a stock. Sentiment is which way they lean. A ticker can be loud and bearish, or quiet and bullish.