Market maker
A dealer that continuously quotes buy and sell prices so you can trade at any time.
In short
As of 8 October 2026A market maker is a dealer that continuously quotes buy and sell prices for securities so you can trade at any time. On many off-exchange venues, it is your direct counterparty. Among other things, it earns money from the spread, the gap between buy and sell price. In the evening these spreads are often wider.
A market maker provides liquidity: it constantly quotes a price at which it sells you a security and one at which it buys it from you. The difference is the spread, part of how it earns money.
On many off-exchange trading venues, the market maker is your direct counterparty. Exchanges use them too, for example to support less-traded stocks and ETFs. How prices form in general is covered in the chapter how prices are made.
Example: for an ETF the market maker quotes 50.00 to 50.04 euros. You buy at 50.04. It hedges and earns small amounts on many such trades. In the evening, outside the main trading hours of big markets, it often quotes wider spreads.
Related terms
Sources
As of 8 October 2026 · Educational content, not investment or tax advice.