Shares
A share is a single unit of ownership in a company.
1 min read Learning to Invest
What it means
A share is a single unit of ownership in a company. If a company has 100 shares and you own 1 of them, you own 1% of that business. 'Stocks' is often used to describe investing in companies generally, while 'shares' usually refers to the individual units you buy.
Example
You buy 20 shares in a company at £25 each, investing £500 in total.
Why it matters
Knowing the difference between shares and stocks makes investing terminology much easier to understand.
You don't need to buy a whole company, just one share is enough to become a shareholder.
What is the difference between stocks and shares?
'Shares' are individual ownership units. 'Stocks' is a broader term often used to describe company investments as a whole.