A stock represents ownership in a company. Returns can come from dividends and a rising share price, but neither is assured. Buy ten shares at 20 units each and sell at 18: the price loss is 20 units before fees and any dividends. Shareholders can lose their investment and rank behind creditors in liquidation. The term earns a place because owning equity is fundamentally different from lending through a bond.
Source: Stocks.
Image credit: Jeffrey Zeldman from Manhattan, USA · CC BY 2.0. Resized and JPEG compressed.
