Section 1 · Stock Fundamentals
What is a Stock?
Learn what you actually own when you buy a stock.
Think of a company like a pizza.
A stock is one slice. When a company like Apple divides itself into millions of slices and sells them, each slice is called a share. Buy a share — own a piece. If the company grows and becomes more valuable, your slice is worth more. That is how investors make money.
3 things to know
Over 6,000 US companies trade publicly on stock exchanges.
Stock prices update every second during market hours.
You profit when price rises. You lose when it falls.
Dive Deeper
Key vocabulary — tap each card
Practice
Scenario
Apple has 15 billion shares outstanding. You buy 1 share at $185. Six months later, Apple's total company value increases by 20%. What is your 1 share now worth?
Did you know?
The New York Stock Exchange opened in 1792 under a buttonwood tree on Wall Street — 24 brokers signed the first trading agreement.
🧠 Knowledge Check
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When you buy one share of a company's stock, you become...