You are entitled to one vote for every share of stock that you own. Two, you get dividends . Getting something for nothing is cool, very cool. Three, you have the right to get a proportionate share of any asset remaining after the corporation pays its liabilities in the case of liquidation . Fourthly, and finally, you have the right of preemption .
Investors buy more stock in transactions among themselves than from the trading company.
Each share of stock is issued only once, but it may be traded among investors many times thereafter. Brokers handle the transactions for a commission. Corporations sometimes buy another corporation's stock to gain some control over other corporations. This enables the investor to elect a majority of the investee's board of directors and also control the investee. The corporation that controls the other company is called the parent company, and the company that is controlled by another corporation is called the subsidiary .