split your differential

[Mike Hussey]

Mark Hanna says to new employee about broker business:

Mark Hanna: This is not a tip, this is a prescription. Trust me. If you don't, you will fall out of balance, split your differential and tip the f*ck over. Or worse yet, I've seen this happen, implode.

What does "split your differential" mean?

Source: The Wolf of Wall Street (a 2013 American biographical black comedy crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Terence Winter)

 

[GoesStation]

It's evidently a bit of industry jargon. The audience isn't expected to understand it except as "have something really bad happen".

 

[Tdol]

It is a term that comes from power transmission in cars:

https://explorationoutfitters.com/pages/differentials-explained-limited-slip-differential

 

[GoesStation]

It is a term that comes from power transmission in cars:

https://explorationoutfitters.com/pages/differentials-explained-limited-slip-differential

I'd think its use in brokerages isn't related. I imagine it has to do with a source of profit — a difference between two figures.