# Investopedia API

> Investopedia explains finance, business, and investing terms as a workflow and API.

Investopedia, also known as Investopedia Dictionary, defines a finance, business, or investing term using its matching dictionary article. Define term needs a word or phrase and can return the definition, key points, examples, author, related terms, and review date when available.

- Page: https://fous.com/workflows/investopedia
- Handle: `@investopedia`
- Category: [Finance](https://fous.com/workflows/category/finance)
- Source website: https://investopedia.com
- Last verified: Sep 29, 2026
- Fous is not affiliated with Investopedia.

## Methods

### Define term

Operation `define_term`, version 1. 1 credit per call.

Explain a finance, business, or investing term using its matching Investopedia dictionary article. Some uncommon terms may not have a dedicated article.

**Input**

| Field | Type | Required | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| `term` | string | yes | `"P/E ratio"` | Finance, business, or investing word or phrase to define, for example EBITDA. |

**Input schema**

```json
{
  "type": "object",
  "required": [
    "term"
  ],
  "properties": {
    "term": {
      "type": "string",
      "description": "Finance, business, or investing word or phrase to define, for example EBITDA.",
      "examples": [
        "P/E ratio",
        "EBITDA",
        "401(k)"
      ]
    }
  },
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "examples": [
    {
      "term": "P/E ratio"
    },
    {
      "term": "EBITDA"
    },
    {
      "term": "401(k)"
    }
  ]
}
```

**Output**

| Field | Type | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `term` | string | `"Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio"` | Term as titled in the article. |
| `author` | string or null | `"Jason Fernando"` | Article author, if credited. |
| `example` | string or null |  | Article example, if one is present. |
| `article_link` | string | `"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp"` | Link to the Investopedia article. |
| `key_takeaways` | array |  | Main points from the article. |
| `related_terms` | array |  | Up to 10 linked terms from the article. |
| `related_terms[].link` | string | `"https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businesscycle.asp"` |  |
| `related_terms[].name` | string | `"business cycles"` |  |
| `full_explanation` | string |  | Plain-text article explanation, up to 4000 characters. |
| `short_definition` | string | `"The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often call` | The first one or two sentences of the article’s definition. |
| `last_reviewed_or_updated_date` | string or null | `"2026-04-15"` | Last updated date, YYYY-MM-DD, if available. |

**Example input**

```json
{
  "term": "P/E ratio"
}
```

**Example output**

```json
{
  "term": "Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio",
  "author": "Jason Fernando",
  "example": "Let's clarify this with an example, looking at FedEx Corporation ( FDX ). We can calculate the P/E ratio for FDX as of Aug. 8, 2025, when the company's stock price closed at $228.05. The company's EPS…",
  "article_link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/price-earningsratio.asp",
  "key_takeaways": [
    "The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is the proportion of a company's share price to its earnings per share (EPS).",
    "A high P/E ratio could mean that a company's stock is overvalued or that investors expect high growth rates.",
    "Companies with no earnings or that are losing money don't have a P/E ratio because there's nothing to put in the denominator."
  ],
  "related_terms": [
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/businesscycle.asp",
      "name": "business cycles"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/forwardpe.asp",
      "name": "forward P/E"
    },
    {
      "link": "https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trailingpe.asp",
      "name": "trailing P/E"
    }
  ],
  "full_explanation": "What Is the Price-to-Earnings (P/E) Ratio?\n\nThe price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often called the price or earnings multiple, th…",
  "short_definition": "The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio measures a company's share price relative to its earnings per share (EPS). Often called the price or earnings multiple, the P/E ratio helps assess the relative value …",
  "last_reviewed_or_updated_date": "2026-04-15"
}
```

## Quick start

Call the API with a Fous API key (`FOUS_API_KEY`). To create one, turn on Developer mode in Fous Studio, then open Keys & connections → API keys (https://app.fous.com/keys).

```bash
# First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
: "${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example}"

curl 'https://api.fous.com/v1/query' \
  --fail-with-body --silent --show-error --max-time 120 \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-raw '{
  "api": "@investopedia",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "define_term",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "term": "P/E ratio"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}'
```

```python
# Save as fous.py and run with python3 fous.py. No packages needed.
# First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
import json
import os
import urllib.error
import urllib.request

api_key = os.environ.get("FOUS_API_KEY")
if not api_key:
    raise RuntimeError("Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example")

body = json.loads("{\n  \"api\": \"@investopedia\",\n  \"visibility\": \"public\",\n  \"operation\": \"define_term\",\n  \"version\": 1,\n  \"input\": {\n    \"term\": \"P/E ratio\"\n  },\n  \"response\": {\n    \"format\": \"json\"\n  }\n}")
request = urllib.request.Request(
    "https://api.fous.com/v1/query",
    data=json.dumps(body).encode("utf-8"),
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    method="POST",
)
try:
    with urllib.request.urlopen(request, timeout=120) as response:
        result = json.load(response)
except urllib.error.HTTPError as error:
    raise RuntimeError(f"HTTP {error.code}: {error.read().decode('utf-8', errors='replace')}") from error
if result.get("success") is False:
    raise RuntimeError(result.get("error", {}).get("message", "Request failed"))
print(json.dumps(result["data"]["output"], indent=2))
```

```typescript
// Save as fous.mts and run with npx tsx fous.mts.
// First set your key: export FOUS_API_KEY='YOUR_FOUS_API_KEY'
const apiKey = process.env.FOUS_API_KEY;
if (!apiKey) throw new Error("Set FOUS_API_KEY before running this example");

const response = await fetch("https://api.fous.com/v1/query", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Authorization": `Bearer ${apiKey}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000),
  body: JSON.stringify({
  "api": "@investopedia",
  "visibility": "public",
  "operation": "define_term",
  "version": 1,
  "input": {
    "term": "P/E ratio"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "json"
  }
}),
});
type ApiResult = { success: boolean; data?: { output: unknown }; error?: { message: string } };
const result: ApiResult = await response.json();
if (!response.ok || result.success === false) {
  throw new Error(result.error?.message ?? `HTTP ${response.status}`);
}
if (!result.data) throw new Error("Missing API response data");
console.log(result.data.output);
```

Or describe the data in plain language: send `{"api":"@investopedia","prompt":"Describe the data you need, with every detail"}` to the same URL. Fous fills in the input, runs the method that fits and returns only the fields you asked for; `data.route.calls[].request` is the exact call it made. Routing is free; the run costs the same.

## Use cases

- Explain finance terms to customers
- Help employees understand investing vocabulary
- Add definitions to financial research
- Find related business terms

## FAQ

### Is Fous affiliated with Investopedia?

No. Fous is not affiliated with Investopedia. This workflow reads the public investopedia.com website and returns its data.

### How much does it cost?

Each run costs 1 credit. With pay-as-you-go, a credit costs 1¢; monthly plans cost less per credit.

### Do I need a Investopedia account?

No. You only need a Fous account.

### How current is the data?

Fous gets the data from investopedia.com when you run it; repeating the same request within a day may return the saved result. Fous checks this workflow automatically; it last passed a check on Sep 29, 2026.

### What does a finance or investing term mean?

Define term returns a short definition and a fuller explanation from the matching Investopedia dictionary article.

### What are the key points about a term?

Define term returns the article’s key takeaways when available.

### Which terms are related to this one?

Define term returns up to 10 linked related terms from the article.

## Related

- [Wiktionary API](https://fous.com/workflows/wiktionary.md): A free, multilingual dictionary with word meanings and language information.
- [Dictionary.com API](https://fous.com/workflows/dictionary-com.md): Dictionary.com provides definitions, pronunciations, audio, examples, and word origins, plus ranked synonyms and antonyms for public Thesaurus.com entries; some word details may be unavailable.
- [Urban Dictionary API](https://fous.com/workflows/urban-dictionary.md): Urban Dictionary provides crowdsourced slang definitions and examples, plus up to 30 newest Words of the Day with featured dates.
- [Cambridge Dictionary API](https://fous.com/workflows/cambridge-dictionary.md): Cambridge Dictionary provides English definitions, examples, grammar labels, and available UK and US pronunciations, plus translations and paired examples for supported languages, reflecting details shown on its pages.
- [Merriam-Webster API](https://fous.com/workflows/merriam-webster.md): Merriam-Webster provides definitions, pronunciations, examples, word histories, synonyms, antonyms, and related words for publicly listed entries, plus Word of the Day entries for today or published archive dates.
- [Etymonline API](https://fous.com/workflows/etymonline.md): Origins and histories of English words from the Online Etymology Dictionary.
- [Finviz API](https://fous.com/workflows/finviz.md): Finviz provides delayed US stock snapshots, screening by company and trading criteria, and up to 200 recent public executive and director Form 4 trades.
- [Yahoo Finance API](https://fous.com/workflows/yahoo-finance.md): Yahoo Finance provides quotes, movers, company financials, analyst ratings, earnings, news, and up to 5,000 price rows with adjusted returns; prices may be delayed.
- [All Finance workflows](https://fous.com/workflows/category/finance)