So How Many Stocks Are There?

If you ever thought that you might run out of investment ideas, you need not worry. There are many, many stocks to choose from, whether they are traded on NASDAQ, the New York Stock Exchange, or over-the-counter.

When I last did my count, I found 2,867 stock that trade on the NYSE, 392 stocks on what is still considered the American Stock Exchange, an even 2,400 on NASDAQ, 4,359 that trade over-the-counter, and 716 that trade on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board. This adds up, assuming I did the calculation correctly, to a grand total of 10,734 stocks.

By the way, these number can differ widely, especially in the OTC area, depending on what source you use.