SEC Approves NYSE and NYSE American $0.25 Minimum Price Threshold for Delisting

The SEC approved rule changes by the NYSE and NYSE American establishing a new $0.25 minimum trading price threshold that triggers immediate suspension of trading and delisting proceedings without a cure period.

In the approval orders, the Commission said the exchanges had identified a recent increase in trading of very low-priced stocks, and agreed that such securities may be more prone to manipulation because less capital is required to accumulate a position large enough to move the price.

Under the new minimum trading price standards, if a listed security's closing price falls below $0.25 on any trading day, the exchanges will immediately suspend trading and commence delisting proceedings. Unlike the exchanges' existing $1.00 price criteria, which allow companies a cure period to regain compliance, companies falling below the $0.25 threshold will not be entitled to any cure procedures, though they retain the right to appeal a delisting decision.

The exchanges also codified their existing discretionary authority to suspend or delist a security experiencing a precipitous price decline to an abnormally low level from which it is unlikely to recover, even if the security has not fallen below the $0.25 threshold.

The SEC noted that its data analysis supported the exchanges' proposals, finding that 55 percent of securities that fell below the proposed threshold still had a closing price under $0.25 after 180 days. The Commission found good cause to approve the changes on an accelerated basis because the late-stage amendments did not alter any substantive provisions or raise regulatory issues substantially different from what had already been open for public comment. The amendments' only change was extending the effective date from October 1, 2026, to July 1, 2027.

The new standards take effect July 1, 2027.