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A measure of a stock's volatility relative to the overall market.
Beta quantifies the systematic risk of a security compared to the market as a whole. A beta of 1.0 means the stock moves in line with the market. A beta greater than 1.0 indicates higher volatility (e.g., beta of 1.5 means 50% more volatile), while a beta less than 1.0 indicates lower volatility. Beta is a key input in the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Utility stocks tend to have betas below 1.0, while technology stocks often have betas above 1.0.