Consolidated Tape
The real-time electronic feed disseminating last-sale prices and volume for all U.S. equity trades.
What is Consolidated Tape?
The consolidated tape is the real-time electronic data stream that reports the price, size, and exchange of every trade executed in a U.S. equity security across all registered national exchanges and certain off-exchange venues. It provides investors and market participants with a unified, consolidated view of market activity regardless of where a trade was executed. In the United States, the consolidated tape is administered through Securities Information Processors (SIPs): the CTA Plan covers NYSE-listed securities (Tape A) and regional exchange stocks (Tape B), while the UTP Plan covers Nasdaq-listed securities (Tape C). The SEC's Regulation NMS and subsequent market data infrastructure modernization rules govern SIP dissemination to ensure fair, timely access to trade data.
Example
When an investor's market order to sell 500 shares of Apple executes on Cboe EDGX at $185.43, that trade is immediately reported to the consolidated tape and disseminated through the SIP to all market participants within milliseconds. Every investor and data terminal globally sees: AAPL — 500 shares — $185.43 — EDGX. This transparency is the foundation for market-wide price discovery and regulatory surveillance.
Source: SEC — Market Data Infrastructure Rule (Release No. 34-90610)