Stats › Active, passive and flows › Trading costs
The US minimum tick goes from 12.5 cents to half a cent
The half penny applies only to tick constrained stocks, defined by a time weighted average quoted spread of 1.5 cents or less. Sources: SEC releases and orders.
The tick is the smallest amount a US quoted price can move. It was 12.5 cents before 1997, one cent from April 2001, and half a cent for tick constrained stocks from November 2026. Every reduction narrowed spreads and thinned displayed depth.
12.5 centsTick before 1997
November 2026Half penny tick from
15.39c to 4.18cNYSE spread, 2001 fall
48.4%Depth lost in 1997
Members only
The rest of this page is for members
Below this point there are 10 sections, 2 charts, 1 table and 5 named sources, roughly 1500 words of it. Every figure carries the source it came from and the date the data is from.
You can keep browsing every statistic in the library for free. The intro and the summary are always open.