Yahoo Finance API: Complete Guide to Stock Data for Developers

Need stock market data for your application? Yahoo Finance provides one of the most comprehensive sources of financial data. This guide covers how to access stock quotes, historical prices, financial statements, and more.

What You Can Get from Yahoo Finance

Data Type	Description	Use Case
Real-time Quotes	Current price, change, volume	Trading apps
Historical Data	OHLCV data for any period	Charts, backtesting
Company Info	Profile, sector, employees	Company research
Financial Statements	Income, balance sheet, cash flow	Fundamental analysis
Options Data	Calls, puts, Greeks	Options trading
Analyst Recommendations	Buy/hold/sell ratings	Investment research

---

Accessing Yahoo Finance Data

Yahoo Finance doesn't offer an official public API, but there are several ways to access the data:

Option 1: yfinance (Python Library)

The most popular and reliable method:

pip install yfinance

import yfinance as yf

# Get stock info
apple = yf.Ticker("AAPL")

# Current price
print(apple.info['currentPrice'])  # 178.50

# Company name
print(apple.info['longName'])  # Apple Inc.

Option 2: yahoo-finance2 (JavaScript)

npm install yahoo-finance2

const yahooFinance = require('yahoo-finance2').default;

async function getStock(symbol) {
  const quote = await yahooFinance.quote(symbol);
  return {
    symbol: quote.symbol,
    price: quote.regularMarketPrice,
    change: quote.regularMarketChange,
    changePercent: quote.regularMarketChangePercent,
    volume: quote.regularMarketVolume
  };
}

const apple = await getStock('AAPL');
console.log(apple);
// { symbol: 'AAPL', price: 178.50, change: 2.35, changePercent: 1.33, volume: 52341200 }

Option 3: Direct API (Unofficial)

const axios = require('axios');

async function getQuote(symbol) {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://query1.finance.yahoo.com/v7/finance/quote`,
    {
      params: {
        symbols: symbol,
        fields: 'regularMarketPrice,regularMarketChange,regularMarketVolume'
      },
      headers: {
        'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'
      }
    }
  );

  return response.data.quoteResponse.result[0];
}

---

Real-Time Stock Quotes

JavaScript Example

const yahooFinance = require('yahoo-finance2').default;

async function getMultipleQuotes(symbols) {
  const quotes = await yahooFinance.quote(symbols);

  return quotes.map(q => ({
    symbol: q.symbol,
    name: q.shortName,
    price: q.regularMarketPrice,
    change: q.regularMarketChange,
    changePercent: q.regularMarketChangePercent?.toFixed(2),
    dayHigh: q.regularMarketDayHigh,
    dayLow: q.regularMarketDayLow,
    volume: q.regularMarketVolume,
    marketCap: q.marketCap,
    peRatio: q.trailingPE
  }));
}

// Get multiple stocks at once
const stocks = await getMultipleQuotes(['AAPL', 'GOOGL', 'MSFT', 'AMZN']);
console.log(stocks);

Python Example

import yfinance as yf

def get_quotes(symbols):
    """Get real-time quotes for multiple symbols."""
    tickers = yf.Tickers(' '.join(symbols))

    quotes = []
    for symbol in symbols:
        ticker = tickers.tickers[symbol]
        info = ticker.info

        quotes.append({
            'symbol': symbol,
            'name': info.get('shortName'),
            'price': info.get('currentPrice') or info.get('regularMarketPrice'),
            'change': info.get('regularMarketChange'),
            'change_percent': info.get('regularMarketChangePercent'),
            'volume': info.get('volume'),
            'market_cap': info.get('marketCap'),
            'pe_ratio': info.get('trailingPE')
        })

    return quotes

# Usage
quotes = get_quotes(['AAPL', 'GOOGL', 'MSFT'])
for q in quotes:
    print(f"{q['symbol']}: ${q['price']:.2f} ({q['change_percent']:.2f}%)")

---

Historical Price Data

Get OHLCV (Open, High, Low, Close, Volume) data for any time period:

JavaScript Example

const yahooFinance = require('yahoo-finance2').default;

async function getHistoricalData(symbol, period1, period2) {
  const history = await yahooFinance.historical(symbol, {
    period1, // Start date
    period2, // End date
    interval: '1d' // '1d', '1wk', '1mo'
  });

  return history.map(day => ({
    date: day.date.toISOString().split('T')[0],
    open: day.open,
    high: day.high,
    low: day.low,
    close: day.close,
    volume: day.volume,
    adjClose: day.adjClose
  }));
}

// Get last year of data
const history = await getHistoricalData(
  'AAPL',
  '2025-01-01',
  '2026-01-01'
);

console.log(`Retrieved ${history.length} days of data`);
console.log(history.slice(0, 3)); // First 3 days

Python Example

import yfinance as yf
import pandas as pd

def get_historical_data(symbol, start, end, interval='1d'):
    """
    Get historical OHLCV data.

    Intervals: 1m, 2m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 60m, 90m, 1h, 1d, 5d, 1wk, 1mo, 3mo
    """
    ticker = yf.Ticker(symbol)
    df = ticker.history(start=start, end=end, interval=interval)

    return df

# Get daily data for the last year
df = get_historical_data('AAPL', '2025-01-01', '2026-01-01')
print(df.tail())

# Calculate simple metrics
df['Daily_Return'] = df['Close'].pct_change()
df['MA_20'] = df['Close'].rolling(window=20).mean()
df['MA_50'] = df['Close'].rolling(window=50).mean()

print(f"Average daily return: {df['Daily_Return'].mean():.4f}")
print(f"Volatility (std): {df['Daily_Return'].std():.4f}")

Intraday Data

# Get intraday data (last 7 days max for 1-minute intervals)
df_intraday = get_historical_data('AAPL', '2026-01-20', '2026-01-26', interval='5m')
print(f"Intraday data points: {len(df_intraday)}")

---

Company Information

Get detailed company profiles:

JavaScript Example

async function getCompanyInfo(symbol) {
  const quote = await yahooFinance.quoteSummary(symbol, {
    modules: ['assetProfile', 'summaryDetail', 'price']
  });

  const profile = quote.assetProfile;
  const summary = quote.summaryDetail;

  return {
    name: quote.price.longName,
    symbol: quote.price.symbol,
    sector: profile.sector,
    industry: profile.industry,
    website: profile.website,
    employees: profile.fullTimeEmployees,
    description: profile.longBusinessSummary,
    headquarters: `${profile.city}, ${profile.state}, ${profile.country}`,
    marketCap: summary.marketCap,
    peRatio: summary.trailingPE,
    dividendYield: summary.dividendYield,
    fiftyTwoWeekHigh: summary.fiftyTwoWeekHigh,
    fiftyTwoWeekLow: summary.fiftyTwoWeekLow
  };
}

const appleInfo = await getCompanyInfo('AAPL');
console.log(appleInfo);

Python Example

def get_company_info(symbol):
    """Get comprehensive company information."""
    ticker = yf.Ticker(symbol)
    info = ticker.info

    return {
        'name': info.get('longName'),
        'symbol': info.get('symbol'),
        'sector': info.get('sector'),
        'industry': info.get('industry'),
        'website': info.get('website'),
        'employees': info.get('fullTimeEmployees'),
        'description': info.get('longBusinessSummary'),
        'market_cap': info.get('marketCap'),
        'pe_ratio': info.get('trailingPE'),
        'forward_pe': info.get('forwardPE'),
        'dividend_yield': info.get('dividendYield'),
        'beta': info.get('beta'),
        '52_week_high': info.get('fiftyTwoWeekHigh'),
        '52_week_low': info.get('fiftyTwoWeekLow')
    }

info = get_company_info('MSFT')
print(f"{info['name']} ({info['symbol']})")
print(f"Sector: {info['sector']}")
print(f"Market Cap: ${info['market_cap']:,.0f}")

---

Financial Statements

Access income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements:

Python Example

def get_financials(symbol):
    """Get financial statements."""
    ticker = yf.Ticker(symbol)

    return {
        'income_statement': ticker.financials,
        'quarterly_income': ticker.quarterly_financials,
        'balance_sheet': ticker.balance_sheet,
        'quarterly_balance': ticker.quarterly_balance_sheet,
        'cash_flow': ticker.cashflow,
        'quarterly_cash_flow': ticker.quarterly_cashflow
    }

# Get Apple financials
financials = get_financials('AAPL')

# Income Statement
income = financials['income_statement']
print("Annual Income Statement:")
print(income.loc[['Total Revenue', 'Gross Profit', 'Net Income']])

# Balance Sheet
balance = financials['balance_sheet']
print("\nBalance Sheet:")
print(balance.loc[['Total Assets', 'Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest', 'Total Equity Gross Minority Interest']])

JavaScript Example

async function getFinancials(symbol) {
  const summary = await yahooFinance.quoteSummary(symbol, {
    modules: ['incomeStatementHistory', 'balanceSheetHistory', 'cashflowStatementHistory']
  });

  return {
    incomeStatement: summary.incomeStatementHistory.incomeStatementHistory,
    balanceSheet: summary.balanceSheetHistory.balanceSheetStatements,
    cashFlow: summary.cashflowStatementHistory.cashflowStatements
  };
}

const financials = await getFinancials('AAPL');

// Latest annual income statement
const latestIncome = financials.incomeStatement[0];
console.log('Revenue:', latestIncome.totalRevenue);
console.log('Net Income:', latestIncome.netIncome);

---

Options Data

Get options chains with Greeks:

Python Example

def get_options_chain(symbol, expiration_date=None):
    """Get options chain for a symbol."""
    ticker = yf.Ticker(symbol)

    # Get available expiration dates
    expirations = ticker.options
    print(f"Available expirations: {expirations[:5]}...")

    # Use first expiration if not specified
    exp_date = expiration_date or expirations[0]

    # Get options chain
    opt = ticker.option_chain(exp_date)

    return {
        'expiration': exp_date,
        'calls': opt.calls,
        'puts': opt.puts
    }

# Get options for Apple
options = get_options_chain('AAPL')

print(f"\nOptions expiring {options['expiration']}:")
print(f"Calls: {len(options['calls'])} contracts")
print(f"Puts: {len(options['puts'])} contracts")

# Show top 5 calls by volume
top_calls = options['calls'].nlargest(5, 'volume')[['strike', 'lastPrice', 'volume', 'openInterest', 'impliedVolatility']]
print("\nTop 5 calls by volume:")
print(top_calls)

---

Analyst Recommendations

Get analyst ratings and price targets:

Python Example

def get_analyst_data(symbol):
    """Get analyst recommendations and price targets."""
    ticker = yf.Ticker(symbol)

    return {
        'recommendations': ticker.recommendations,
        'upgrades_downgrades': ticker.upgrades_downgrades,
        'analyst_price_targets': ticker.analyst_price_targets
    }

data = get_analyst_data('AAPL')

# Recent recommendations
print("Recent Analyst Actions:")
print(data['recommendations'].tail(10))

# Price targets
targets = data['analyst_price_targets']
print(f"\nPrice Targets:")
print(f"  Low: ${targets['low']}")
print(f"  Mean: ${targets['mean']}")
print(f"  High: ${targets['high']}")
print(f"  Current: ${targets['current']}")

---

Building a Stock Dashboard API

Complete example of a stock data API:

const express = require('express');
const yahooFinance = require('yahoo-finance2').default;

const app = express();

// Get stock quote
app.get('/api/quote/:symbol', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const quote = await yahooFinance.quote(req.params.symbol);
    res.json({
      symbol: quote.symbol,
      name: quote.shortName,
      price: quote.regularMarketPrice,
      change: quote.regularMarketChange,
      changePercent: quote.regularMarketChangePercent,
      volume: quote.regularMarketVolume,
      marketCap: quote.marketCap,
      peRatio: quote.trailingPE,
      dayRange: `${quote.regularMarketDayLow} - ${quote.regularMarketDayHigh}`,
      yearRange: `${quote.fiftyTwoWeekLow} - ${quote.fiftyTwoWeekHigh}`
    });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(404).json({ error: 'Symbol not found' });
  }
});

// Get historical data
app.get('/api/history/:symbol', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { period = '1y', interval = '1d' } = req.query;

    const endDate = new Date();
    const startDate = new Date();

    // Parse period
    const periodMap = {
      '1d': 1, '5d': 5, '1mo': 30, '3mo': 90,
      '6mo': 180, '1y': 365, '2y': 730, '5y': 1825
    };
    startDate.setDate(endDate.getDate() - (periodMap[period] || 365));

    const history = await yahooFinance.historical(req.params.symbol, {
      period1: startDate,
      period2: endDate,
      interval
    });

    res.json(history.map(d => ({
      date: d.date.toISOString().split('T')[0],
      open: d.open,
      high: d.high,
      low: d.low,
      close: d.close,
      volume: d.volume
    })));
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

// Search stocks
app.get('/api/search', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const { q } = req.query;
    const results = await yahooFinance.search(q);

    res.json(results.quotes.map(r => ({
      symbol: r.symbol,
      name: r.shortname || r.longname,
      type: r.quoteType,
      exchange: r.exchange
    })));
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

// Get company profile
app.get('/api/profile/:symbol', async (req, res) => {
  try {
    const summary = await yahooFinance.quoteSummary(req.params.symbol, {
      modules: ['assetProfile', 'summaryDetail', 'price']
    });

    res.json({
      name: summary.price.longName,
      sector: summary.assetProfile.sector,
      industry: summary.assetProfile.industry,
      website: summary.assetProfile.website,
      employees: summary.assetProfile.fullTimeEmployees,
      description: summary.assetProfile.longBusinessSummary
    });
  } catch (error) {
    res.status(500).json({ error: error.message });
  }
});

app.listen(3000, () => console.log('Stock API running on port 3000'));

---

Rate Limiting and Best Practices

Implement Caching

const NodeCache = require('node-cache');
const cache = new NodeCache({ stdTTL: 60 }); // 60 second cache

async function getCachedQuote(symbol) {
  const cacheKey = `quote:${symbol}`;

  let quote = cache.get(cacheKey);
  if (quote) return quote;

  quote = await yahooFinance.quote(symbol);
  cache.set(cacheKey, quote);

  return quote;
}

Rate Limiting

import time
from functools import wraps

def rate_limit(max_per_second=2):
    """Decorator to rate limit function calls."""
    min_interval = 1.0 / max_per_second
    last_called = [0.0]

    def decorator(func):
        @wraps(func)
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            elapsed = time.time() - last_called[0]
            wait_time = min_interval - elapsed
            if wait_time > 0:
                time.sleep(wait_time)
            result = func(*args, **kwargs)
            last_called[0] = time.time()
            return result
        return wrapper
    return decorator

@rate_limit(max_per_second=2)
def get_stock_data(symbol):
    return yf.Ticker(symbol).info

---

Alternative Finance APIs

API	Free Tier	Best For
Alpha Vantage	25 req/day	Technical indicators
Finnhub	60 req/min	Real-time data
Polygon.io	5 req/min	Options data
IEX Cloud	50K msg/mo	Company data

---

Conclusion

Yahoo Finance data provides comprehensive stock market information for building financial applications. Use yfinance (Python) or yahoo-finance2 (JavaScript) for reliable access to quotes, historical data, and financials.

Remember to implement caching and rate limiting to avoid being blocked, and consider paid APIs like Alpha Vantage or Finnhub for production applications requiring guaranteed uptime.

Related Resources:

• Alpha Vantage API Guide →
• Browse All Finance APIs →
• Best Payment APIs →