Bid and Asked

When we check in on the stock market, it can seem like there is just one price for each stock. We look up Microsoft, for instance, and see it's trading at $100.86 per share. That's the price for the stock. Just like a Big Mac costs $5, MSFT stock costs $100.86.

But the price for the stock is more complicated. The price you see at any given time is the result of complex interplay that takes place in the background. That system consists of a series of "bids" and "asks."

Bids consist of people wanting to buy the stock and listing the price they are willing to pay. You might give a bid for MSFT of 1,000 shares at $100 per share. Meanwhile, asks consist of people wanting to sell the stock, and giving the price they want to get. So someone might offer 1,500 shares of MSFT for $101 per share.

All the bids and asks (continuously updated and fluidly appearing, disappearing, and changing) get consolidated into the list price shown when you google the stock price.