Stock

A stock is a small piece of ownership in a company. When you buy stock, you're buying a share of that business—if it grows and becomes more valuable, your share grows too. You'll hear about stocks constantly in investing because they're the main way regular people can own a piece of companies and potentially build wealth. Companies issue stock to raise money, and investors buy it hoping the company succeeds. For example, if TechCorp issues 1 million shares and you buy 100, you own 0.01% of TechCorp. If the company does well, your shares might be worth more later, and you can sell them for a profit. That's the basic appeal: own a piece of something, watch it grow.