A stock is like owning a small piece of a business. Companies issue shares when they need to raise money—whether to expand, hire, build new products, or reduce debt. Investors buy these shares because they believe the company will grow and become more valuable over time. As the company’s value increases, so does the price of its stock.
Stocks can provide two main types of returns: capital gains (when the price rises) and dividends (when the company shares profits with shareholders). Some investors buy stocks for long-term growth, while others trade them actively to capture short-term price movements. Stock prices fluctuate constantly based on earnings, economic conditions, interest rates, sentiment, and supply–demand dynamics.
Publicly traded stocks are bought and sold on exchanges like the NYSE, NASDAQ, or the SIX Swiss Exchange. These markets provide transparency, liquidity, and regulation to ensure fair trading. Because stocks reflect the financial health and future prospects of companies, they play a central role in most investment portfolios.
Stocks matter because they help companies raise capital and give investors a way to build wealth, diversify portfolios, and participate in the growth of the global economy.
Investors look at financial performance, valuation metrics, industry trends, management quality, and long-term prospects. Some rely on fundamentals, such as revenue growth and profit margins. Others focus on technical signals like price trends, momentum, or support and resistance. The best approach depends on the investor’s goals and risk tolerance.
Prices change as investors react to new information—earnings reports, economic data, interest-rate changes, competitive news, or broader market sentiment. When more people want to buy a stock than sell it, the price rises. When selling pressure exceeds demand, it falls. This constant push–pull creates real-time price movement.
Dividends provide a steady stream of income in addition to price appreciation. Over decades, dividends have made up a significant portion of total stock-market returns. Companies with reliable dividend payments are often seen as stable and financially healthy, making them appealing to long-term and income-focused investors.
An investor buys 100 shares of a well-known consumer-goods company. Over the next year, the stock price rises 15%, and the company pays quarterly dividends. The investor earns both capital gains and income, benefiting directly from the company’s growing success.
FinFeedAPI’s Stock API is the most relevant tool for stock data. It provides historical prices, OHLCV data perfect for building trading platforms, analytics dashboards, research tools, or portfolio apps.
