Monthly Dividend ETFs: Who Actually Pays
Monthly dividend ETFs pay 12 times a year. See which fund families actually do it, why the headline yield is not comparable, and when the cash lands.
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Evergreen explainers of how US markets actually work, each concept taught with real, queryable market data.
How to Become a Registered Market Maker
How to become a market maker: exchange registration, two sided quoting size and width rules, net capital under Rule 15c3-1, and what suspension means.
Why stocks drop on the ex-dividend date
Why do stocks drop on the ex-dividend date? The drop is a mechanical price adjustment. See how far real payers actually opened below the prior close.
Street Name vs Holder of Record: Cede & Co
Street name vs holder of record: your broker holds the position at DTC and Cede & Co is the registered owner. What that means for dividends and proxies.
Who Sets the Ex-Dividend Date? Not the Board
Who sets the ex-dividend date? The listing exchange does, under FINRA uniform practice rules, working from the record date and the T+1 settlement cycle.
Who Are the Biggest Market Makers?
Who are the biggest market makers? The firms that quote US stocks and options, and how to read your own broker's Rule 606 report to see who fills your orders.
Due Bills and Stock Splits: Ex-Date Timing
Why a stock split's ex-date lands after the payable date, what a due bill is, who tracks it, and the full timeline from record date to first adjusted session.
Qualified Dividend Holding Period: 61 Days
The qualified dividend holding period is more than 60 days inside a 121-day window around the ex-dividend date. See the exact count, with worked dates.
When Did the US Stock Market Start? 1792
The US stock market started with the 1792 Buttonwood Agreement, signed by 24 brokers. Every date that follows, and how a call auction became 9:30 to 4:00.
Stop Order vs Stop-Limit Order: How Each Fills
A stop order becomes a market order and fills at any price. A stop-limit becomes a limit order and can miss the exit entirely. Five years of gap data show it.
Payment in Lieu of Dividends, Explained
A payment in lieu of dividends arrives when your broker lends your shares out. Here is the full mechanic, and why the tax character differs from a dividend.
Options Expiration Calendar 2026: All 12 Dates
The full 2026 options expiration calendar: twelve monthly third Fridays, the four quarterly dates, and the holiday rule that can shift one to a Thursday.
FINRA Margin Debt Statistics, Explained
FINRA margin debt statistics explained: the rule behind the filing, the third week release, the four to seven week lag, and how to read the history since 1997.
When Are 13F Filings Due? 2026 Deadlines
13F filings are due 45 days after each quarter ends. The four 2026 deadlines, the rolls that move them, and what the form never shows you about a portfolio.
What H1 and H2 Mean in Company Reporting
H1 and H2 are the two halves of a reporting year. What the labels mean, how to read FY26 Q3, and why H1 2026 covers different calendar months by issuer.
Why Stock Quotes Are Delayed 15 Minutes
Why are stock quotes delayed 15 minutes? How exchange data licensing sets the rule, and what a quarter hour of staleness actually costs on real prices.
How to Calculate Covered Call Returns
How to calculate covered call returns: net debit, break even, static return and return if called, worked through one contract, plus the annualized catch.
What Is the High-Low Index? Market Breadth
The High-Low Index is the 10-day average of Record High Percent. See the formula worked in round numbers, plus the sample size trap on a quiet tape.
When Is the COT Report Released?
The CFTC releases the COT report every Friday at 3:30 pm ET, measured as of Tuesday's close. See the schedule, the three-day lag, and how to read it.
US Market Hours and Daylight Saving Time
US market hours never change in New York: 9:30 to 16:00 ET all year. See what daylight saving does to the open in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Sydney.
What Happens If an Option Expires In the Money
If an option expires in the money by at least $0.01, the OCC exercises it automatically. See what the long and short sides owe, and what pin risk costs.
How to Find a Stock's Earnings Date
A company sets its own earnings date and confirms it in a press release and an 8-K filing. Here is where to look, and how far an estimated date can move.
Price Return vs Total Return: The Real Gap
Price return vs total return: the S&P 500 headline index leaves out dividends. See the compounding gap measured over 20 years and where each version is used.
How to Find a Lockup Expiration Date
A lockup expiration date lives in the IPO prospectus, not on a calendar page. Where to find it, and why counting 180 days from the first trade gets it wrong.
Nikkei 225 Options and SQ Settlement
Nikkei 225 options settle in cash against the SQ, an opening print from all 225 stocks. How the second Friday settlement works and what long premium costs.
Trailing vs Forward Dividend Yield Explained
Trailing dividend yield counts the last twelve months of payouts; forward yield annualizes the latest declared one. See why two screeners can disagree.
Mutual Funds vs ETFs: What Actually Differs
Mutual funds vs ETFs: one price a day at NAV against a live market price. See what really differs in pricing, spreads, capital gains, and share classes.
When Do Mutual Fund Trades Settle?
Mutual fund settlement runs on a different clock than fund pricing. Walk a sale through both clocks, day by day, and see when the cash is really yours.
What Is Max Pain in Options? The Real Math
Max pain is the strike where option holders collect the least at expiry. See the calculation on a real SPY chain and how close settlement actually landed.
Covered Call vs Cash-Secured Put
A covered call and a cash-secured put at one strike share a payoff shape. See both priced on the same SPY chain, and where the two really differ.
US Stock Market Hours Around the World
US stock market hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. New York time. See that session converted into major world time zones, plus the twice yearly clock shifts.
American vs European Options Explained
American options can be exercised on any trading day, European options only at expiration. How SPY and SPX differ, and when early exercise matters.
Free Stock Market Data API, No Key Required
A free stock market data API with no key and no signup: seven curated JSON queries over US equities and options, cached at the edge and open to AI agents.
Free SQL API for Stock Market Data
A free SQL API for stock market data: write real SQL against 22 years of US equities, dividends, and fundamentals. 100 queries a day, no credit card.
What Is IV Crush? Measured on Real Earnings
IV crush is the overnight collapse of option implied volatility after an event. We scanned six weeks of the US options tape and measured every big one.
Which Stocks Have Daily Options?
SPY, QQQ and IWM list a new options expiration every trading day, and the index roots go deeper. See which tickers carry dailies and which only get Fridays.
When Is Short Interest Released?
FINRA publishes short interest twice a month, mid-month and month-end, about two weeks after each settlement date. See the live release cadence and lag.
How Often Do Stocks Split?
How often do stocks split? A data study since 2016: reverse splits far outnumber the forward ones that grab headlines, hundreds of each every year.
Highest Days to Cover Stocks Right Now
The stocks with the highest days to cover from the latest FINRA short interest settlement, and why the raw top of the list is a liquidity artifact.
Triple Witching 2026 Dates and Volume Data
Triple witching 2026 falls on March 20, June 18, September 18 and December 18. See how market-wide dollar volume moved on the last witching session.
How Ex-Dividend Dates Affect Options
How ex-dividend dates affect options: why ordinary dividends don't move strikes, when to exercise a call early, and how a liquid option's greeks glide through.
Does a Stock Go Up After a Split?
Does a stock go up after a stock split? A data study of forward splits since 2016: the run-up comes before, and the median stock trailed the market afterward.
What Is a Special Dividend? (With Examples)
A special dividend is a one-time payout outside a company's regular schedule. Why Costco and National Beverage pay them, and what they mean for options.
How Leveraged ETFs Work (and Why They Decay)
How 3x leveraged ETFs like SOXL actually work, why they can beat or lag their multiple over time, and why inverse funds such as SOXS keep reverse-splitting.
The Option Greeks Explained: Delta to Rho
Delta, gamma, theta, vega and rho, the five option greeks, demonstrated by tracing one real SPY call through its whole life against the stock.
What Is Option Vega? Volatility Sensitivity
Vega measures an option's sensitivity to implied volatility. Watch IV spike on a real SPY call, see vega grow with time, and drive the earnings vol crush.
What Is Implied Volatility? IV, Explained
Implied volatility is the future move an option's price implies. See IV across stocks, the term structure, the volatility skew, and a year of SPY's vol regime.
What Is Option Theta? Time Decay Explained
Theta measures an option's daily time decay. Watch it deepen on a real SPY call into expiry, see decay accelerate, and why it's the seller's income.
What Is Option Gamma? Delta's Accelerator
Gamma measures how fast an option's delta changes. See the at-the-money bell, why it spikes near expiry, and how it powers 0DTE and the gamma squeeze.
What Is Option Delta? A Plain-English Guide
Option delta measures how much an option moves per $1 in the stock. Watch it track a real SPY call across the strike and see the moneyness S-curve.
Most Shorted Stocks Right Now, Measured
The most shorted stocks by days to cover and by shares short, from the latest exchange-reported settlement. Liquid names only, refreshed as new prints land.
Unusual Volume Stocks This Week, Measured
Unusual volume stocks this week, ranked: trailing-week turnover vs. each name's prior 40 sessions, with weekly returns, rarity context and persistence.
Is the Stock Market Open Today?
Is the US stock market open today? A computed open/closed status, today's calendar, every upcoming holiday, and what happens to orders placed while it's closed.
When Do 0DTE Options Trade? By the Hour
0DTE options trade heaviest in the morning, not at the close: hourly volume, the calls-vs-puts clock, weekday shares and same-day spreads, all measured.
When Do Mutual Funds Trade? NAV Pricing at 4 pm
Mutual funds trade once a day, priced at the 4 pm ET NAV, no intraday prices, no limit orders. See when orders fill, the broker cutoff, and T+1 settlement.
What Is Average Daily Volume (ADV)?
Average daily volume is a stock's typical shares traded per day. It is the denominator inside days to cover, relative volume, and every liquidity screen.
IPO Lockup Expiration: Meaning & Release Date
A lockup expiry is the day IPO insiders can finally sell, customarily 180 days after listing. Where to find the exact end date, and how five unlocks traded.
FINRA Short Interest Data, Explained
Where short interest data actually comes from: FINRA's twice-monthly settlement file and its daily short volume file. Schedules, contents, and failure modes.
What Is a Short Squeeze? GameStop, Measured
A short squeeze is a rally that feeds on short sellers buying to close. GameStop's 2021 records, short interest, days to cover and price, tell it in numbers.
Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: Stocks This Week
See which stocks have upcoming ex-dividend dates this week and next: the biggest names, per-share payouts and pay dates, plus what the ex-day price drop does.
What Is Dividend Yield? What's Normal in 2026
Dividend yield is annual dividends per share divided by price. See the median payer's yield, what's normal by sector, and when a high yield is a trap.
What Is the Put-Call Ratio? A Data Guide
The put-call ratio is puts traded divided by calls traded. See its real range on the full US options tape: by expiration, index vs equity, and against a decade.
DTE Meaning in Options: Days to Expiration
DTE stands for days to expiration: calendar days, not trading days, until an option expires, and expiry day counts as zero. How to count it on a real chain.
What Is Triple Witching? Volume & Volatility
Triple witching is the quarterly session when index futures, index options and stock options expire together. Volume and volatility, measured on the real tape.
When Do Options Expire? Friday 4 PM ET & Daily
Most options stop trading at the 4:00 PM ET close on expiration Friday; weeklies expire Fridays, monthlies the third Friday, and SPY and QQQ expire daily.
Why Do Stocks Gap Up or Down Overnight?
A gap up or gap down is the distance from the prior close to the 9:30 open, after 17.5 closed hours. SPY overnight gap size, Mondays widest, plus stop risk.
What Is Days to Cover? Short Interest Ratio
Days to cover, the short interest ratio, is shares short divided by daily volume: how many days the exit would take. Real settlement data shows what is high.
What Is a Stock Split? Ratios and Mechanics
A stock split multiplies share count and divides price, value unchanged. Real split records show which ratios companies pick, and what prices did next.
Market Order vs Limit Order, Measured
A market order fills now at the best available price; a limit order caps your price but may not fill. Real quote data shows what each choice costs in dollars.
How Monthly Stock Returns Are Measured
A monthly stock return depends on which two prices you pick, whether dividends count, and whether the series is split-adjusted. Each one measured on real data.
How Much Does It Cost to Trade Options?
Options commissions may be zero, but the bid-ask spread is real. See the median cost to trade SPY, QQQ, IWM, GLD, and TSLA options, in basis points.
What It Costs to Trade a Stock, Measured
Commissions are zero, but every stock trade pays the bid-ask spread. See the real cost of trading stocks, measured in basis points across 12 household names.
What Is the NBBO? National Best Bid and Offer
The NBBO is the national best bid and offer, the one consolidated stock quote your broker must match or beat. See how fast it updates, from real tick data.
What Is FINRA Short Interest? Days to Cover
FINRA short interest is shares sold short and not yet bought back. See how it's reported twice monthly, settlement dates, days to cover and percent of float.
What Is a Reverse Stock Split? Good or Bad?
A 1-for-10 reverse stock split turns 10 shares into 1 at ten times the price, position value unchanged. Neutral arithmetic; the companies that use it are not.
Stock Market Hours: Open 9:30, Close 4:00 ET
What time does the stock market open and close? NYSE and Nasdaq regular hours run 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. ET, plus premarket and after-hours; closed weekends.
Ex-Dividend Date vs. Record Date: Same Day?
Is the ex-dividend date the same as the record date? Since the T+1 switch in May 2024, yes, they fall on the same day for nearly every US dividend, measured.
Locked and Crossed Markets, Explained With Data
A locked market quotes the bid equal to the ask; a crossed market quotes the bid above it. See why Reg NMS bans both and how often each hits the tape.
How Big Is the OPRA Options Quote Feed?
How big is the options quote feed? We count one full day of OPRA-scale NBBO updates in our warehouse and measure it against the entire stock quote tape.
Options Volume vs. Open Interest, Explained
Volume counts contracts traded today; open interest counts contracts still outstanding. Both defined, plus one full day of the US options tape, measured.
What Is 0DTE? Zero Days to Expiry Options
0DTE options expire the same day they trade, zero days to expiry. What DTE means, how traders build a 0DTE trade, and one real contract traced to the bell.
Why Are Spreads Wider at the Open? Real Data
Why are spreads wider at the open? Tick-level quotes price the opening premium half hour by half hour, show how fast it fades, and what premarket really costs.
What Is the Opening Auction? How Stocks Open
What the opening auction is, how one 9:30 a.m. cross sets each stock's official opening price, and why the open can differ from the first trade of the day.
What Is Dark Pool Trading? FINRA Volume Data
Dark pool trading matches stock orders with no displayed quotes. Every fill prints to the FINRA tape, the measured off-exchange share of five liquid stocks.
Stock Float vs. Shares Outstanding Explained
A stock's float is the shares free to trade, shares outstanding minus locked-up insider stock. See what counts as a low float and how thin floats trade.
What Is a Block Trade? Big Prints & the Data
What a block trade is, where the 10,000-share / $200,000 rule comes from, and how big prints reach the tape, dark pools, exchanges, on real block-trade data.
What Is RVOL (Relative Volume)? How to Read It
RVOL (relative volume) is a stock's volume ÷ its 20-day average: above 1 is busier-than-usual trading. Plus intraday time-of-day RVOL and what counts as high.
The Most Common SEC Filings, Explained by Data
The most common SEC filing is not the 10-K or the 10-Q. It is the insider Form 4. A data-backed guide to EDGAR's busiest forms, ranked, defined and explained.
Premarket and After-Hours Trading Hours (ET)
Premarket runs 4-9:30 a.m. ET, after-hours 4-8 p.m. See what the tape shows: each session's volume share, how much wider spreads cost, and when news moves.
What Is VWAP? Volume-Weighted Average Price
VWAP stands for volume-weighted average price. Definition: price times volume divided by total volume, reset daily. What it means on a real trading day.
What Is the Closing Auction? (Closing Cross)
What the closing auction is, why one 4 p.m. print sets the official close, and how market-on-close orders feed the day's biggest trade, on real tape data.
Why Short Interest Data Is Always Two Weeks Old
Short interest is measured twice a month and published on a lag. The FINRA cycle, the measured delay, what moves while a print is pending, and days to cover.
Stock Market Holidays 2026–2027: NYSE & Nasdaq
When is the stock market closed? Every upcoming NYSE & Nasdaq holiday and 1:00 p.m. early close for 2026–2027, from the live exchange calendar.
What Is the 2s10s Spread? Yield Curve Data
What the 2s10s spread is, how the Treasury yield curve works, and what past inversions looked like, with every chart built from auditable market data.
What Is a Bid-Ask Spread? Real Costs
Learn what a bid-ask spread is, how to calculate it, and what it costs per trade, with real spreads measured from tick-level quote data on US stocks.
Short Interest vs Short Volume: The Difference
Short interest and daily short volume measure different things. See real per-ticker numbers, days-to-cover math, and the exact query behind every figure.
How Do Market Makers Make Money? The Spread
What market makers do and how they earn the bid-ask spread, with real tick data: measured spreads, quote updates per second, and the SQL behind every number.
What Is an Ex-Dividend Date? How It Works
The ex-dividend date decides who gets paid: buy before it and the dividend is yours, buy on it and it isn't. See the four key dates on real US timelines.