There are three main types of stocks: common stock (gives its owner voting rights at shareholder meetings and entitles to a portion of the company's profits through dividends), preferred stock (pays dividends at a fixed rate and has a higher claim on assets and earnings than common stock; does not typically come with voting rights), and warrants (type of security that gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific number of shares of stock at a predetermined price within a certain time frame).