Stock

A share of ownership in a corporation, whose value rises and falls with the business, so both the risk and the expected return run higher than on debt.

Issuing stock is how a corporation raises equity, and buying a share in a secondary market makes the buyer one of that business's owners.

Often confused with

Bond
A stock makes you a part owner with no promised payment; a bond makes you a lender with scheduled interest.

Taught in

See also

3.5.B.4 · 3.5.C.1 · 5.3.B.1 · 5.3.B.3