What Is A Share?

The Stock Share

A share is a unit of ownership in a publicly traded company, stock fund, or other investment enterprise.  A single share is issued or bought as a measure of investment in a company.  When speaking of the stock market, such as the New York Stock Exchange, a stock is a holding, or representative part, of a publicly traded company.  Companies which are not privately owned are comprised of stock holders, or shareholders.  Each stock share represents a portion of the company as whole asset.  Those investing in shares, buying shares through a stockbroker, are buying a piece of ownership in the company. The publicly traded company will issue shares in the amount it wishes determined by how much investment they are looking for from the public. Stock shares can easily number in the millions or tens of millions for a company traded on the stock market.

Why Stock Shares

A stock share serves two main purposes: as a method for companies to increase their capital, and for the investor as a way to increase their invested money.  In theory, as far as for investment purposes, an investor buying shares in a company is looking to make a return.  While there exist dividends, payments to stockholders based on positive earnings from publicly traded companies, most investors make money on the stock shares themselves.  A publicly traded company issues shares at their current worth.  This worth is based on the company´s current value in assets and also on marketplace supply and demand.  An investor buys a stock share at its current value which can be from a few to several hundred dollars depending on the company being invested in.  With the hopes that in a few to several years the company will increase in value, assets, etc. thus increasing the stock share value.  As the stock share value increases, so would the investors amount of money invested.

Buying And Selling Shares

Buying shares and selling shares of stocks entails the use of a stockbroker.  The stockbroker will execute the purchase and issue the investor their share holdings certificate.  Stockbrokers work based on commission or on a per trade basis.  They can be found either in the yellow pages or online.  More and more stock shares are being bought and sold online through online stockbrokers who typically charge as little as $8 or less to buy a stock share.

Related posts:

1. What Is Stock Trading?
2. What Is A Stock?
3. What Is The Average Amount Of Shares Per Person?
4. How Do I Start Online Stock Trading?
5. What Is A Dividend?