A stocks value can change at any given moment, depending on market conditions,investor perceptions, or a number of other issues. When investors pour money into a company's stock, they do so because they believe that the company is going to turn a profit, and the company's stock will go up in value. However if the investors decide that the company's outlook is poor, and they don't invest, or if they sell the stock that they already own, then the company's stock price will fall.
Investors that purchase stock, believe that others will by the stock as well, and that the share price will rise. Investing is a gamble, but its nothing like betting on horses. a long shot always has a chance to win the race even if everyone else is betting on the favorite. But in the stock market, the betting itself actually influences the outcome. Should lots of investors bet on a particular stock, the price of the stock will rise. The stock becomes more valuable because investors want it. The reverse is also true, if investors sell their stock in a company, the stock will fall in value. The more a stock fall, the more investors will sell.
Some people just invest in stock to get a quarterly dividend payment. Dividends are a portion of the company's profits that are paid out to its shareholders. Lets say that if a company declares a annual dividend of $8 dollars a share, and you own 100 shares then you will have made $800 dollars a year, or they would be paid $200 dollars each quarter. The company's board of directors decides how large of a dividend the company will pay, or if it will pay one at all. Most of the time only large, mature companies pay dividends. Smaller companies need to keep reinvesting their profits in-order to continue to grow.
All stocks don't act alike. One of the basic differences is how closely a stocks value, or price, is tied to the condition of the economy. Cyclical stocks are the shares of a company that are highly dependant on the state of the economy. When the economy slows down, their earnings fall rapidly, and so dose the price of their stock. However once the economy recovers, a company's earnings will rise rapidly and their stock will go up.
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