What are Stocks?
Stocks are a way of investing in a company by buying an ownership stake in it. The more stocks (or shares), the greater your profit when the company appreciates in value.
Trade Now
What are the Different Types of Stocks?
It isn’t always enough just to wonder “what are stocks?” since the options are as wide and varied as the companies they represent.
You can buy stocks in tech companies like Apple or Amazon, large corporations like Walmart or Procter & Gamble, banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co or even in energy industry companies such as Chevron.
As long as companies adhere to certain financial rules, they can “create” certain kinds of stocks.
Common stocks are, as the name implies, the most common and can be bought by pretty much anyone wanting to do so (assuming they have enough capital to afford it). Common stock usually comes with certain voting rights on company decisions but – more importantly – with a share of the company’s profits (or losses).
You may also be able to purchase “preferred stocks” which typically have a higher income that is usually also fixed & guaranteed. Those shares also tend to suffer less volatility. The reason these are called “preferred” stocks is that, since the stockholder here does not have voting rights, he or she is not held accountable for a company failure. In case of liquidation, preferred stockholders are considered debt holders and are remunerated from a company’s assets before common stockholders.
