Stocks that are classified as trading in the Pink OTC market are stocks that have not gone to the trouble of meeting the requirements imposed by the OTC Markets Group for their stock to trade in the OTCQB or OTCQX markets . If you are new to OTC stocks, you can read about OTC stocks. This article analyzes the stocks in the Pink market in our database, in order to get a "big picture" view of the Pink OTC market. You can see those stocks using our list of Pink stocks.
We intentionally do not put all Pink stocks in our database. We only include in our database Pink stocks if they are owned by a U.S. ETF or if the stock is one of the most actively traded OTC stocks. There are thousands of Pink stocks not in our database that are so called "penny" stocks that are probably of questionable quality because they don't make regular ongoing disclosures to investors.
Here is a summary of the Pink stocks based on size category:
| Category | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 315 | $13,439,344,240,497 | 93.17% |
| Mid cap | 170 | $905,455,492,991 | 6.28% |
| Small cap | 72 | $73,322,495,862 | 0.51% |
| Micro cap | 234 | $6,252,273,501 | 0.04% |
| Unknown | 12 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 803 | $14,424,374,502,851 | 100.00% |
As explained in our article size categories, there is no standard definition of what makes up a "large cap" stock or a "mid cap" stock. On our website, we use a cutoff of $10 billion to determine a large cap stock. This is a just a widely used rule of thumb that we have also chosen to use. Similarly, a "mid cap" stock under our definition is a stock with a market capitalization between $2 billion and $10 billion, a small cap stock has a market capitalization between $300 million and $2 billion, and a micro cap stock has a market capitalization under $300 million.
Here is a summary of the Pink stocks based on security type:
| Category | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ADRs | 484 | $10,270,212,921,692 | 71.20% |
| Common stocks | 319 | $4,154,161,581,159 | 28.80% |
| Total | 803 | $14,424,374,502,851 | 100.00% |
Notice the large number of ADRs. There are two types of ADRs: sponsored and unsponsored. An unsponsored ADR is where the ADR is created by a U.S. investment bank without the involvement of the company that the ADR relates to. These unsponsored ADRs are always classified as Pink (the OTCQX and OTCQB system is all about judging the quality of ongoing disclosures by the company, and a company that has an unsponsored ADR isn't making any additional disclosures to U.S. investors, other than the disclosures it makes in its home country).
Sponsored ADRs are also popular on the OTC Pink market. If a company wants to have a sponsored ADR trade on a U.S. stock exchange, the company has to start making additional disclosures to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and to the stock exchange the company's ADR would be listed on (NASDAQ or NYSE). But a Pink ADR is much easier as the company does not have to make any additional disclosures to U.S. investors, other than the disclosures it makes in its home country.If you are new to ADRs, read what is an ADR? See also our list of OTC ADRs.
A large portion of the Pink common stocks are foreign companies that have cross-listed their shares on the U.S. OTC market:
| Category | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign common stocks | 170 | $4,075,727,711,552 | 98.11% |
| U.S. common stocks | 149 | $78,433,869,607 | 1.89% |
| Total | 319 | $4,154,161,581,159 | 100.00% |
Here is a summary of the Pink stocks based on country:
| Country | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 93 | $2,477,462,173,208 | 17.18% |
| France | 42 | $2,115,983,983,340 | 14.67% |
| China | 51 | $1,786,854,641,804 | 12.39% |
| Germany | 37 | $1,313,795,153,651 | 9.11% |
| Switzerland | 20 | $1,264,228,654,889 | 8.76% |
| Australia | 43 | $847,626,312,232 | 5.88% |
| United Kingdom | 52 | $832,684,213,840 | 5.77% |
| Hong Kong | 45 | $669,821,969,843 | 4.64% |
| The Netherlands | 8 | $384,768,865,842 | 2.67% |
| Sweden | 21 | $319,032,924,729 | 2.21% |
| Spain | 12 | $316,673,281,628 | 2.20% |
| Denmark | 15 | $314,976,900,323 | 2.18% |
| Italy | 8 | $251,103,234,786 | 1.74% |
| Norway | 10 | $199,217,417,687 | 1.38% |
| Singapore | 8 | $194,950,105,972 | 1.35% |
| South Africa | 20 | $159,371,420,059 | 1.10% |
| Brazil | 25 | $125,790,173,445 | 0.87% |
| Finland | 5 | $99,461,792,056 | 0.69% |
| Ireland | 8 | $93,036,009,347 | 0.64% |
| Canada | 57 | $88,388,510,756 | 0.61% |
| Austria | 12 | $83,957,006,754 | 0.58% |
| USA | 149 | $78,433,869,607 | 0.54% |
| Belgium | 4 | $71,176,639,236 | 0.49% |
| Malaysia | 6 | $58,635,504,848 | 0.41% |
| Russia | 11 | $48,936,129,450 | 0.34% |
| Luxembourg | 2 | $46,451,094,274 | 0.32% |
| Thailand | 3 | $36,111,770,208 | 0.25% |
| Mexico | 6 | $32,936,422,323 | 0.23% |
| Portugal | 1 | $19,558,738,741 | 0.14% |
| New Zealand | 4 | $17,502,786,963 | 0.12% |
| Philippines | 2 | $15,777,343,308 | 0.11% |
| Greece | 3 | $12,581,691,735 | 0.09% |
| Israel | 2 | $12,369,716,209 | 0.09% |
| Colombia | 3 | $11,926,054,767 | 0.08% |
| Turkey | 3 | $9,320,150,458 | 0.06% |
| Hungary | 2 | $6,028,998,650 | 0.04% |
| Taiwan | 1 | $5,505,068,209 | 0.04% |
| India | 2 | $932,503,542 | 0.01% |
| Bermuda | 2 | $749,257,683 | 0.01% |
| Chile | 1 | $252,872,008 | 0.00% |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | $1,352,345 | 0.00% |
| Jamaica | 1 | $1,304,224 | 0.00% |
| Indonesia | 1 | $487,872 | 0.00% |
| Jordan | 1 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 803 | $14,424,374,502,851 | 100.00% |
Notice the large number of Canadian companies. There are a large number of small Canadian mining and energy companies that are cross-listed on the U.S. OTC market. Here is a summary of the Canadian stocks based on size category:
| Category | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 4 | $84,390,409,528 | 95.48% |
| Small cap | 4 | $3,452,976,334 | 3.91% |
| Micro cap | 46 | $545,124,894 | 0.62% |
| Unknown | 3 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 57 | $88,388,510,756 | 100.00% |
Because these are smaller Canadian companies, their primary listing tends to be on one of Canada's smaller stock exchanges and not on the Toronto Stock Exchange:
| Exchange | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto Stock Exchange | 8 | $86,884,228,871 | 98.30% |
| TSX Venture Exchange | 5 | $1,081,427,571 | 1.22% |
| Canadian Securities Exchange | 5 | $268,156,343 | 0.30% |
| 39 | $154,697,971 | 0.18% | |
| Total | 57 | $88,388,510,756 | 100.00% |
The U.S. companies tend to be microcaps. Here is a summary of the U.S. stocks based on size category:
| Category | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large cap | 2 | $73,707,467,383 | 93.97% |
| Micro cap | 142 | $3,396,062,205 | 4.33% |
| Small cap | 2 | $1,330,340,019 | 1.70% |
| Unknown | 3 | $0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 149 | $78,433,869,607 | 100.00% |
The U.S. companies operate in a wide variety of industries:
| Industry | Security Count | Total Market Cap | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Hardware | 2 | $58,367,638,210 | 74.42% |
| Rental & Leasing Services | 1 | $15,419,092,183 | 19.66% |
| Banks-Regional | 2 | $978,487,784 | 1.25% |
| Solar | 4 | $457,615,988 | 0.58% |
| Telecom Services | 2 | $413,513,508 | 0.53% |
| Software—Application | 5 | $312,327,830 | 0.40% |
| Other Industrial Metals & Mining | 5 | $269,481,186 | 0.34% |
| Asset Management | 3 | $235,175,781 | 0.30% |
| Biotechnology | 6 | $233,166,680 | 0.30% |
| 35 | $231,912,363 | 0.30% | |
| Shell Companies | 2 | $177,191,423 | 0.23% |
| Utilities—Renewable | 4 | $163,316,121 | 0.21% |
| Grocery Stores | 2 | $147,789,647 | 0.19% |
| Medical Care Facilities | 1 | $114,597,853 | 0.15% |
| Software—Infrastructure | 2 | $112,331,710 | 0.14% |
| Drug Manufacturers—Specialty & Generic | 8 | $100,133,553 | 0.13% |
| Electrical Equipment & Parts | 2 | $92,821,158 | 0.12% |
| Electronics & Computer Distribution | 1 | $92,099,878 | 0.12% |
| Semiconductors | 1 | $77,451,995 | 0.10% |
| Health Information Services | 2 | $67,656,395 | 0.09% |
| Medical Devices | 2 | $61,934,939 | 0.08% |
| Electronic Components | 3 | $37,277,278 | 0.05% |
| Medical Instruments & Supplies | 2 | $32,892,784 | 0.04% |
| Capital Markets | 2 | $27,749,688 | 0.04% |
| Credit Services | 1 | $25,712,362 | 0.03% |
| Footwear & Accessories | 2 | $20,327,103 | 0.03% |
| Entertainment | 2 | $18,225,832 | 0.02% |
| Staffing & Employment Services | 1 | $14,348,568 | 0.02% |
| Broadcasting | 1 | $12,828,300 | 0.02% |
| Oil & Gas Equipment & Services | 3 | $11,408,919 | 0.01% |
| Travel Services | 1 | $11,392,091 | 0.01% |
| Oil & Gas E&P | 4 | $10,977,751 | 0.01% |
| Information Technology Services | 1 | $10,856,878 | 0.01% |
| Beverages—Non-Alcoholic | 1 | $9,788,714 | 0.01% |
| Thermal Coal | 2 | $9,432,355 | 0.01% |
| Utilities—Regulated Electric | 1 | $8,076,825 | 0.01% |
| Security & Protection Services | 2 | $7,453,229 | 0.01% |
| Apparel Retail | 1 | $6,550,356 | 0.01% |
| Scientific & Technical Instruments | 2 | $4,560,604 | 0.01% |
| Paper & Paper Products | 1 | $4,462,287 | 0.01% |
| Auto Manufacturers | 1 | $4,330,314 | 0.01% |
| Specialty Industrial Machinery | 2 | $3,693,333 | 0.00% |
| Consulting Services | 1 | $3,449,827 | 0.00% |
| Education & Training Services | 1 | $3,161,316 | 0.00% |
| Waste Management | 1 | $2,258,086 | 0.00% |
| Real Estate Services | 1 | $2,085,289 | 0.00% |
| Food Distribution | 2 | $1,484,020 | 0.00% |
| Aerospace & Defense | 1 | $922,535 | 0.00% |
| Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | 1 | $714,091 | 0.00% |
| Medical Distribution | 1 | $449,445 | 0.00% |
| Conglomerates | 1 | $367,359 | 0.00% |
| Real Estate—Diversified | 1 | $226,270 | 0.00% |
| Oil & Gas Integrated | 1 | $171,000 | 0.00% |
| Internet Content & Information | 2 | $164,083 | 0.00% |
| Agricultural Inputs | 1 | $123,367 | 0.00% |
| Farm & Heavy Construction Machinery | 1 | $102,126 | 0.00% |
| Pollution & Treatment Controls | 2 | $72,535 | 0.00% |
| Specialty Retail | 2 | $29,600 | 0.00% |
| Auto Parts | 1 | $6,902 | 0.00% |
| Total | 149 | $78,433,869,607 | 100.00% |
Yes and no. Most Pink companies are large or mid cap foreign companies. If you know how to research a foreign security, these stocks don't seem that risky. But if the company is a micro cap U.S. company that isn't regularly reporting to the S.E.C., it will seem very risky. So the Pink market is really two different markets.
All data is a live query from our database. The wording was last updated: 03/15/2021.
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