If it sounds a lot like gambling, that's because it is (minus the green felt card table).

What happens at the stock market?

The stock market is the place where shares of public companies are bought and sold by investors. Investors decide which companies to buy stock from and how many individual shares of stock to purchase. The smartest investors generally identify relatively new companies with a lot of potential that are not yet worth all that much, and whose stock value is therefore still low.

A good example: Amazon. When the company first went public in 1997, its initial stock prices was, of course, exponentially lower than it is now. So those who bought in early ended up doing quite well for themselves in the long run. In fact, the site Statista estimates that $1,000 investment in Amazon when it first went public would be worth close to $240,000 today.

Darn!

Stock MarketStock Market

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IPOs, Investments, and Stocks, Oh My! Explaining the Business of Business