Lesson 1 of 8
What Is a Stock?
Ownership in a company, in one share
1 share of AAPL=~0.000006%of Apple Inc.
When you buy a stock, you own a piece of the company. Their buildings, their cash, their products. You're a part-owner.
You make money when
Stock price goes up (capital gains)
Company pays you profits (dividends)
You lose money when
Stock price drops
Company goes bankrupt (rare for large caps)
loading AAPL...
Apple (AAPL) past year. You'd own a piece of this.
key idea
Price moves on supply and demand. More buyers than sellers = price up. More sellers = price down. That's the whole game.
Check yourself
How do stock prices move?