Stock Tickers Gone Witty: 10 Companies With Funny Stock Names

When most people think about stock market tickers, they picture mundane combinations of letters—MSFT, AAPL, IBM. But occasionally, a company breaks this convention by selecting a ticker that’s not just functional, but genuinely amusing. Funny stock names serve as marketing tools, conversation starters, and reminders that businesses don’t always need to be humorless. Ferrari’s decision to use RACE when it went public sparked conversation about creative tickers. Let’s explore ten companies that got their stock ticker right by choosing something that actually means something—and makes people smile.

The Motorcycles and Machines: When Products Define the Code

HOG - Harley-Davidson

Milwaukee’s legendary motorcycle manufacturer holds one of the best examples of a ticker that matches its brand identity perfectly. For over a century, Harley-Davidson motorcycles have dominated the road, and “hogs” is the affectionate slang term riders use for their bikes. When you see the ticker HOG, you immediately know what the company does. It’s a textbook example of clever stock codes that reinforce brand recognition. The company could have opted for something bland like HDMC, but instead chose a name that resonates with their entire culture.

BOOM - Dynamic Materials Corp.

Not every company specializes in explosions, but Dynamic Materials Corp. makes it their business. Their ticker BOOM perfectly captures their core operation: explosion metal working. This process involves joining metals explosively (called cladding) and using controlled explosions to shape, harden, and transform metal products. BOOM isn’t just funny—it’s accurate. In an industry where most tickers bear no relation to what companies actually do, this one stands out as genuinely clever.

PLOW - Douglas Dynamic

Another Milwaukee-based company rounds out this section. Douglas Dynamic manufactures snow and ice control equipment for trucks, including snowplows and salt spreaders. The ticker PLOW is self-explanatory and strikes the perfect balance between humorous and descriptive. The company had multiple opportunities for creative naming, but they chose the one that plows straight through the competition in terms of memorability.

Entertainment and Recreation: Fun Names for Fun Companies

FUN - Cedar Fair

Cedar Fair operates five major amusement parks, including the cult classic Cedar Point, plus Knott’s Berry Farm, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun. The ticker FUN is almost too perfect—it directly reflects what their parks deliver. Six Flags (SIX) must occasionally wonder what might have been if they’d claimed this ticker first. The simplicity and directness of FUN make it one of the most successful examples of funny stock names in the entertainment industry.

HEAR - Turtle Beach

Turtle Beach designs audio technology for gamers, mobile device users, and professional markets. Their ticker HEAR is particularly clever because it works on multiple levels: it describes their product category and reads as a playful challenge. Ironically, telecommunications companies like Verizon (VZ) never capitalized on this option before Turtle Beach snatched it up. It remains one of the best examples of how a funny stock name can perfectly encapsulate a company’s purpose.

The Quirky and Unexpected: Finding Humor in Industrial and Financial

ZEUS - Olympic Steel

The connection between Greek mythology’s king of the gods and Olympic Steel might seem obscure, but it works. Zeus ruled from Mt. Olympus, and Olympic Steel borrowed that powerful association. The company produces high-strength steel products, making the comparison to an all-powerful deity somewhat fitting. Even though Olympic Steel has faced market challenges (as reflected in various analyst ratings), the ticker itself remains one of the most memorable in industrial stocks. It’s a reminder that clever stock names can elevate perception, even when business fundamentals are struggling.

ROCK - Gibraltar Industries

Gibraltar Industries manufactures building materials, primarily metal bar grating and related products for infrastructure. Their ticker references the famous Rock of Gibraltar—except the company has no connection to that limestone promontory or the Iberian Peninsula. They simply seized a fantastic opportunity to use a strong, memorable word that loosely connects to their brand name. It demonstrates that clever stock codes don’t always need perfect logical connections to work.

HEINY - Heineken

The Dutch beer giant Heineken somehow secured a ticker that makes the eight-year-old in all of us giggle. HEINY hits differently in American English than it might elsewhere, and that’s precisely what makes this one of the most playful funny stock names. The beer industry has several solid tickers overall, but it’s surprising that no competitor managed to claim something like BEER before Heineken claimed HEINY.

The Financial and Miscellaneous: Tickers That Defy Categories

BEN - Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources—an investment advisory company—holds what might be the most personally satisfying ticker on this list. BEN works perfectly because browsing the company’s trading information displays as “BEN: FRANKLIN” in your browser tab. It’s not the cleverest of all funny stock names, but it ranks among the dorkiest, which accounts for its charm. The tick would be even more perfect if Franklin Resources operated from Philadelphia, but the connection to Benjamin Franklin still shines through.

GRR - Asian Tigers Fund

This is the only non-company ticker to make the list, and it might actually be the best one overall. The Asian Tigers Fund uses GRR as its symbol—a sound that somehow perfectly captures the aggressive, powerful nature of emerging Asian markets. It’s playful and memorable in ways that most financial product tickers never are.

Why Funny Stock Names Matter

Clever stock codes represent a rare break from corporate monotony. They serve multiple purposes: they’re easier to remember, they create brand personality, and they give employees and investors something to smile about. In a market filled with generic tickers and impersonal transactions, these funny stock names remind us that business can be witty and creative while remaining completely legitimate.

The selection of a stock ticker is a rare opportunity for companies to inject personality into their public identity. Most miss this chance entirely, opting for safe, forgettable combinations. Those that embrace clever stock codes—whether through direct product references like HOG and BOOM, or playful sound connections like HEINY and BEN—stand out in investor memory and market discourse.

More companies should consider this approach. While it would be impractical to force existing corporations to rebrand their tickers, newcomers to the public markets have a chance to make memorable choices. The investment world could use more companies willing to bring wit and humor to what is typically a dry, numbers-focused industry. Until that day comes, we can appreciate the rare gems—the companies that understood that the right funny stock name is worth far more than generic corporate branding.