Spread vs. Margin — What's the Difference?

In finance, spread is the difference between the bid and ask price of an asset.

Margin, in writing and printing, refers to the space around the text.

Spread can also refer to the range between two figures or points.

Margin in finance refers to the borrowing of money to invest in stocks.

In sports betting, spread refers to the points by which a team is favored.

Margin can denote the difference between selling price and cost price.

In marketing, spread might refer to the extent or reach of a campaign.

In business, margin often refers to profit margin, the ratio of profit to revenue.

Spread is used to describe a statistical distribution's variability.

Margin may also be used to describe a safety buffer in various contexts.

Open out (something) so as to extend its surface area, width, or length

The edge or border of something

Extend over a large or increasing area

An amount by which something is won

Apply (a substance) to an object or surface in an even layer

Provide with an edge or border

Lay (a table) for a meal.

Deposit an amount of money with a broker as security for (an account or transaction)

The fact or process of spreading over an area

An edge and the area immediately adjacent to it; a border.

The extent, width, or area covered by something

The blank space bordering the written or printed area on a page.

The range or variety of something

A limit in a condition or process, beyond or below which something is no longer possible or acceptable

A soft paste that can be applied in a layer to bread or other food

An amount allowed beyond what is needed

An article or advertisement covering several columns or pages of a newspaper or magazine, especially one on two facing pages

A measure, quantity, or degree of difference

A large and impressively elaborate meal

The minimum return that an enterprise may earn and still pay for itself.

A bedspread

The difference between the cost and the selling price of securities or commodities.

To open to a fuller extent or width; stretch

The difference between the market value of collateral and the face value of a loan.

To make wider the gap between; move farther apart

An amount in money, or represented by securities, deposited by a customer with a broker as a provision against loss on transactions made on account.

To distribute over a surface in a layer

(Botany) The border of a leaf.

To cover with a layer

To provide with a margin.

To distribute widely

To be a margin to; border.

To make a wide or extensive arrangement of

To inscribe or enter in the margin of a page.

To exhibit or display the full extent of

To add margin to

To cause to become widely seen or known; scatter or disseminate

To deposit margin for

To prepare (a table) for eating; set.

To buy or hold (securities) by depositing or adding to a margin.

To arrange (food or a meal) on a table.

(typography) The edge of the paper, typically left blank when printing but sometimes used for annotations etc.

To flatten (a rivet end, for example) by pounding.

The edge or border of any flat surface.

To be extended or enlarged

(figuratively) The edge defining inclusion in or exclusion from a set or group.

To move over an area, be distributed, or be widely dispersed

A difference or ratio between results, characteristics, scores.

To become known or prevalent over a wide area

A permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits.

To be exhibited, displayed, or visible in broad or full extent

(finance) The yield or profit; the selling price minus the cost of production.

To become or admit of being distributed in a layer

(finance) Collateral security deposited with a broker, to compensate the broker in the event of loss in the speculative buying and selling of stocks, commodities, etc.

To become separated; be forced farther apart

That which is ancillary; periphery.

The act or process of spreading

(transitive) To add a margin to.

Dissemination, as of news; diffusion.

(transitive) To enter (notes etc.) into the margin.

An open area of land; an expanse.

To trade (securities etc.) on margin (collateral).

A ranch, farm, or estate.

A border; edge; brink; verge; as, the margin of a river or lake.

The extent or limit to which something is or can be spread

Specifically: The part of a page at the edge left uncovered in writing or printing.

A cloth covering for a bed, table, or other piece of furniture.

The difference between the cost and the selling price of an article.

(Informal) An abundant meal laid out on a table.

Something allowed, or reserved, for that which can not be foreseen or known with certainty.

A food to be spread on bread or crackers.

Collateral security deposited with a broker to secure him from loss on contracts entered into by him on behalf of his principial, as in the speculative buying and selling of stocks, wheat, etc. It is usually less than the full value of the security purchased, in which case it may be qualified by the portion of the full value required to be deposited; as, to buy stocks on 50% margin.

Two facing pages of a magazine, newspaper, or book, considered as a unit.

To furnish with a margin.

An article or advertisement running across two or more columns of a newspaper or magazine.

To enter in the margin of a page.

A difference, as between two figures or totals

The boundary line or the area immediately inside the boundary

A position taken in two or more options or futures contracts in order to profit from a change in their relative prices.

A permissible difference; allowing some freedom to move within limits

The difference between the price asked and bid for a particular security.

The amount of collateral a customer deposits with a broker when borrowing from the broker to buy securities

The difference in yields between two fixed-income securities, as between short-term and long-term bonds.

(finance) the net sales minus the cost of goods and services sold

A number of points offered to equalize the chances of winning in a wager on a competition, usually between sports teams. Also called point spread.

The blank space that surrounds the text on a page

Wingspread.

A strip near the boundary of an object;

(transitive) To stretch out, open out (a material etc.) so that it more fully covers a given area of space.

(transitive) To extend (individual rays, limbs etc.); to stretch out in varying or opposing directions.

(transitive) To disperse, to scatter or distribute over a given area.

(intransitive) To proliferate; to become more widely present, to be disseminated.

(transitive) To disseminate; to cause to proliferate, to make (something) widely known or present.

(intransitive) To take up a larger area or space; to expand, be extended.

(transitive) To smear, to distribute in a thin layer.

(transitive) To cover (something) with a thin layer of some substance, as of butter.

To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions.

The act of spreading.

Something that has been spread.

(cartomancy) A layout, pattern or design of cards arranged for a reading.

An expanse of land.

A large tract of land used to raise livestock; a cattle ranch.

A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).

A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.

(bread, etc.) Any form of food designed to be spread, such as butters or jams.

(military) A set of multiple torpedoes launched on side-by-side, slowly-diverging paths toward one or more enemy ships.

Improvised by inmates from various ingredients to relieve the tedium of prison food.

An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.

Two facing pages in a book, newspaper etc.

A numerical difference.

The difference between the wholesale and retail prices.

The difference between the price of a futures month and the price of another month of the same commodity.

The purchase of a futures contract of one delivery month against the sale of another futures delivery month of the same commodity.

The purchase of one delivery month of one commodity against the sale of that same delivery month of a different commodity.

(trading) An arbitrage transaction of the same commodity in two markets, executed to take advantage of a profit from price discrepancies.

(trading) The difference between bidding and asking price.

(finance) The difference between the prices of two similar items.

(geometry) An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.

The surface in proportion to the depth of a cut gemstone.

Excessive width of the trails of ink written on overly absorbent paper.

To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail.

To extend so as to cover something; to extend to a great or greater extent in every direction; to cause to fill or cover a wide or wider space.

To divulge; to publish, as news or fame; to cause to be more extensively known; to disseminate; to make known fully; as, to spread a report; - often accompanied by abroad.

To propagate; to cause to affect great numbers; as, to spread a disease.

To diffuse, as emanations or effluvia; to emit; as, odoriferous plants spread their fragrance.

To strew; to scatter over a surface; as, to spread manure; to spread lime on the ground.

To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions; as, to spread a table.

To extend in length and breadth in all directions, or in breadth only; to be extended or stretched; to expand.

To be extended by drawing or beating; as, some metals spread with difficulty.

To be made known more extensively, as news.

To be propagated from one to another; as, the disease spread into all parts of the city.

Extent; compass.

Expansion of parts.

A cloth used as a cover for a table or a bed.

A table, as spread or furnished with a meal; hence, an entertainment of food; a feast.

A privilege which one person buys of another, of demanding certain shares of stock at a certain price, or of delivering the same shares of stock at another price, within a time agreed upon.

An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.

An arbitrage transaction operated by buying and selling simultaneously in two separate markets, as Chicago and New York, when there is an abnormal difference in price between the two markets. It is called a back spreadwhen the difference in price is less than the normal one.

Surface in proportion to the depth of a cut stone.

Process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space

A conspicuous disparity or difference as between two figures;

Farm consisting of a large tract of land along with facilities needed to raise livestock (especially cattle)

A haphazard distribution in all directions

A tasty mixture to be spread on bread or crackers

A meal that is well prepared and greatly enjoyed;

Two facing pages of a book or other publication

The expansion of a person's girth (especially at middle age);

Decorative cover for a bed

Act of extending over a wider scope or expanse of space or time

Distribute or disperse widely;

Become distributed or widespread;

Spread across or over;

Spread out or open from a closed or folded state;

Cause to become widely known;

Become widely known and passed on;

Strew or distribute over an area;

Move outward;

Cover by spreading something over;

Distribute over a surface in a layer;

Distributed or spread over a considerable extent;

Prepared or arranged for a meal; especially having food set out;

Fully extended in width;

Spreads can vary significantly between markets due to differences in liquidity, volatility, and market conditions.

In trading, margin refers to the use of borrowed funds from a broker to buy securities.

Yes, spread can affect profitability as it represents an immediate cost or gain in trading transactions.

In finance, a spread is the difference between two prices, rates, or yields.

Using margin increases the potential for higher losses, as it leverages borrowed funds.

A maintenance margin is the minimum amount of equity that must be maintained in a margin account.

In sports betting, the spread is a handicap that evens the playing field between unevenly matched teams.

The size of a spread in trading is typically determined by the liquidity of the asset and market conditions.

Traders can reduce the costs of spreads by choosing highly liquid markets or negotiating better terms with brokers.

Margin is crucial in financial analysis as it helps assess the profitability and financial health of a business.

Yes, in highly liquid markets or with certain financial instruments, the spread can be zero.

Margin and leverage are related as using margin involves leveraging borrowed funds to increase potential returns.

The spread impacts the cost of entering and exiting trades, affecting overall trading profitability.

Margin plays a crucial role in risk management by determining the level of leverage and potential exposure in trading positions.

If a margin call occurs, the trader must either deposit more funds or sell some of the assets to meet the minimum margin requirement.