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How to Read Stock Charts as a New Trader

Learning how to read stock charts can feel similar to learning how to drive a car. It can be baffling at first, but once you learn the basics, including types of stock market charts, and the patterns they’re forecasting, you’ll hopefully get the hang of it.

With that in mind, learning how to read stock charts is a bit of a heavy lift, and can be difficult or intimidating for newer investors. Keep that in mind: It’ll take some time and practice before you feel comfortable! But the sooner you learn to decipher stock charts, the more useful that knowledge will be in your investment strategy.

The Art of Reading Stock Charts

Learning how to read stock charts can feel like you’re training in some sort of higher art. But again, with some practice, many investors can learn to do it and implement it into their investment strategy.

Understanding Chart Types

There are a handful of basic stock chart types, including line charts, bar charts, and candlestick charts. Thankfully, these charts are more or less exactly what they sound like.

For instance, line charts simply graph a financial security’s historical performance with a line, allowing investors to see the ups and downs over time. A candlestick chart, on the other hand, shows a stock’s high, low, opening, and closing prices for a specific time period. Bar charts also show a security’s price change over time, but there are some slight differences between bar charts and candlestick charts – often, bar charts aren’t color-coded, for example.

Decoding Stock Chart Data

Stock charts are relaying a lot of information about a stock’s performance over certain time periods. Taking that all into account can be difficult, but the main data points investors will want to try and utilize to guide their investment decisions involve prices, dates, and trading volume.

Before you proceed any further, though, you’ll want to make sure you know what stock symbols are.

Stock symbols, or tickers, are the series of letters, and sometimes numbers, by which a particular stock is uniquely identified. For example, the stock symbol for Apple is AAPL, and the stock symbol for Amazon is AMZN. Stock symbols are defined by the exchanges on which those stocks are traded — for instance, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or the Nasdaq. These are the markets on which stocks and other assets are bought and sold. Stocks traded on the NYSE and Nasdaq can have tickers up to 5-letters long, but most are only 2-4.

With that in mind, using graphs and charts to figure out what’s happening in the stock market is the next step.
The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the chart itself is that it’s pretty much a line graph. Remember middle school math? You’re dealing with a basic X and Y axis—and the X axis refers to time.

On a stock line chart, the trend line is measuring the asset’s performance over that period of time. Investors might want to view the stock’s performance over a single day, week, or month, or see its long-run trend line over the past year or longer. It all depends on your personal trading goals.

Some stock charts may spell out the stock’s opening price, low price, high price, and closing price during a given time period, usually marked simply O, L, H, and C. Here’s what those figures each refer to:

•   The opening price is the first price at which the stock traded during the given time period.

•   The low price is the lowest price at which the stock sold during the given time period.

•   The high price is the highest price at which that stock sold during the given time period.

•   Finally, the closing price is the last price at which the stock sold before the exchange closed.

If the exchange is still open and the stock is being actively traded, the stock chart will likely display the last price, which is just what it sounds like: the last price at which the stock was successfully sold.

You might also see the change in that price from the one immediately before it, or last change, usually displayed as both a dollar value and a percentage.

For example, if you were looking at a chart for Company X (using a fictitious stock ticker, CMPNYX) stock, it might display the following string of letters and numbers:

CMPNYX 197.16 +0.05 (+0.04%)

In this example, CMPNYX is the ticker symbol, and $197.16 is the last recorded price of a single share sold on the exchange. That price was five cents higher than the trade immediately before it, meaning the value of the stock rose, in that time, by 0.04%.

By looking at how the trend line moves over the chart period, you can get a sense of the stock’s price and performance over time as well as its most recent statistics.

Volume corresponds to how many shares are bought and sold within a specific time period. In other words, it’s a measure of supply and demand. Volume is often represented as a series of bars running along the bottom axis of the chart. The bars’ size aligns with the number of trades made during that time period, and can be useful for guesstimating upcoming sales trends for that asset.

It’s not a perfect science, of course, but if a stock is trading at low volume — i.e., few shares are being bought and sold each day — it may indicate that the current price trend is about to change. Perhaps the stock is in poor demand because it’s valued too highly for the market. It could also just mean the investment is out of favor with investors.

On the other hand, a high trade volume might indicate that you’ll have an easier time selling the stock quickly if you’re considering short-term trading.

The Role of Technical Indicators

Investors and traders can use a variety of technical indicators to try and make sense of the market, too. That can include things like the 200-day moving average, which attempts to focus on overall pricing trends for a specific stock, or a variety of other trend and momentum indicators.

There are many technical indicators that investors can use to their advantage. It may be worth taking the time to learn more about each, and decide whether to fold them into your strategy.


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Technical vs. Fundamental Analysis

We’ve discussed technical analysis, but fundamental analysis is another important element to introduce into the mix. Chart-reading, though, does rely heavily on technical analysis. For that reason, it may be worth revisiting some of the core reasons that investors will want to bone up on the subject.

The Case for Technical Analysis

Fundamental analysis focuses on a company’s underlying performance, whereas technical analysis is more focused on a stock’s performance. While there may be drawbacks to technical analysis, technical indicators are the type that will reveal patterns in stock charts that can be used to make investment decisions. While the buy or sell signals those patterns relay may or may not be faulty, those indicators are what investors are going to want to use when reading stock charts.

When Fundamentals Intersect with Charts

As mentioned, fundamental analysis concerns a company’s financial and operational health, more so than deciphering lines on a chart. Fundamental analysis involves looking at indicators such as earnings per share, price-to-earnings ratios, and return on equity, which can have an effect on how investors decide to buy, sell, or hold a stock. That, naturally, can dictate what a stock’s performance looks like on a chart – which is where it intersects with technical indicators, in many respects.

Essential Stock Chart Knowledge

When it comes down to it, investors may be best served by garnering essential stock chart knowledge involving the various styles of stock charts, their uses, and the language, or key terms, used to describe what those charts are displaying.

Stock Chart Styles and Their Uses

As mentioned, there are a few main types of stock charts: line charts, bar charts, and candlestick charts (there may be others, but we’ll stick with a few basic ones). Each shows the performance of a specific stock, albeit in different ways. Learning what those charts show, how they show it, and how to translate that information into action is ultimately what investors should aim to do when learning how to read stock charts.

Key Terms Every Trader Should Know

There are also a number of key terms that traders should know. The list can be lengthy, but should probably include words and phrases such as market capitalization (as discussed), price-to-earnings ratios, dividend yields, options, assets, and many more. You should become more familiar with them as you move through your investing journey – you’ll likely start using many of them yourself as your trading activity and strategies become more sophisticated, too.

Applying Your Stock Chart Skills

At the end of the day, learning how to read stock charts, for most investors, is all about one thing: applying that knowledge and making better-informed investing decisions.

How to Use Charts for Smarter Investing

There’s really no limit to the way that investors or traders can use charts to make smarter decisions. The more time you spend studying charts and learning what they show or say, the more information you’ll end up having at your disposal with which to make a decision. The issue, of course, is that all of that information still can’t tell you in all certainty what a stock’s value is going to do next.

That’s perhaps the most important thing to remember about stock charts: they are not a crystal ball, and there’s no guarantee that investors will achieve the outcomes they were hoping or planning for.

Can Charts Enhance Your Investment Strategy?

Stock charts can enhance your investment strategy by adding a whole new dimension – and pile of data and information about specific stocks – to your tool kit. But again, you can spend hours looking at charts, and that still doesn’t mean that a position or investment won’t blow up in your face. You may think of it this way – all investing involves a level of risk, but learning to use stock charts as a part of your strategy may help you gauge how big those risks are, and in some cases, avoid particularly risky investments.

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For a limited time, opening and funding an Active Invest account gives you the opportunity to get up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.


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SoFi Invest refers to the two investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.
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Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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No Prepayment Penalty: Avoid Prepayment Penalties

A frequently offered nugget of financial wisdom is to use unexpected financial windfalls to pay down your debt. But what happens when paying down your loans comes with a prepayment penalty?

The best way to avoid prepayment fees, of course, is to choose a personal loan or mortgage without prepayment penalties. If you’re stuck with a prepayment penalty on your loan, however, all is not lost. There are ways to avoid paying loan prepayment penalties.

What Is a Prepayment Penalty?

A prepayment penalty is when a lender charges you a fee for paying off your loan before the end of the loan term. It can be frustrating that a lender would charge you for paying off a loan too early because it’s natural to think a lender would appreciate being repaid as quickly as possible.

In theory, a lender would appreciate getting repaid quickly. But in reality, it’s not that simple. Lenders make most of their profit from interest, so if you pay off your loan early, the lender is possibly losing out on the interest payments that they were anticipating. Charging a prepayment penalty is one way a lender may recoup their financial loss if you pay off your loan early.

Lenders might calculate the prepayment fee based on the loan’s principal or how much interest remains when you pay off the loan. The penalty could also be a fixed amount as stated in the loan agreement.


💡 Quick Tip: Before choosing a personal loan, ask about the lender’s fees: origination, prepayment, late fees, etc. SoFi personal loans come with no-fee options, and no surprises.

Can You Pay Off a Loan Early?

Say you took out a $5,000 personal loan three years ago. You’ve been paying it off for three years, and you have two more years before the loan term ends. Recently you received a financial windfall and you want to use that money to pay off your personal loan early.

Can you pay off a personal loan early without paying a prepayment penalty? It depends on your lender. Some lenders offer personal loans without prepayment penalties, but some don’t. A mortgage prepayment penalty is more common than a personal loan prepayment penalty.

Recommended: When to Consider Paying off Your Mortgage Early

Differences in Prepayment Penalties

The best way to figure out how much a prepayment penalty would be is to check a loan’s terms before you accept them. Lenders have to be upfront about how much the prepayment penalty will be, and they’re required by law to disclose that information before you take on the loan.

Personal Loan Prepayment Penalty

If you take out a $6,000 personal loan to turn your guest room into a pet portrait studio and agree to pay your lender back $125 per month for five years, the term of that loan is five years. Although your loan term says it can’t take you more than five years to pay it off, some lenders also require that you don’t pay it off in less than five years.

The lender makes money off the monthly interest you pay on your loan, and if you pay off your loan early, the lender doesn’t make as much money. Loan prepayment penalties allow the lender to recoup the money they lose when you pay your loan off early.

Mortgage Prepayment Penalty

When it comes to mortgages, things get a little trickier. For loans that originated after 2014, there are restrictions on when a lender can impose prepayment penalties. If you took out a mortgage before 2014, however, you may be subject to a mortgage prepayment penalty. If you’re not sure if your mortgage has a prepayment penalty, check your origination paperwork or call your lender.

Checking for a Prepayment Clause

Lenders disclose whether or not they charge a prepayment penalty in the loan documents. It might be in the fine print, but the prepayment clause is there. If you’re considering paying off any type of loan early, check your loan’s terms and conditions to determine whether or not you’ll have to pay a prepayment penalty.

How Are Prepayment Penalties Calculated?

The cost of a prepayment penalty can vary widely depending on the amount of the loan and how your lender calculates the penalty. Lenders have different ways to determine how much of a prepayment penalty to charge.

If your loan has a prepayment penalty, figuring out exactly what the fee will be can help you determine whether paying the penalty will outweigh the benefits of paying your loan off early. Here are three different ways the prepayment penalty fee might be calculated:

1. Interest costs. If your loan charges a prepayment penalty based on interest, the lender is basing the fee on the interest you would have paid over the full term of the loan. Using the previous example, if you have a $6,000 loan with a five-year term and want to pay the remaining balance of the loan after only four years, the lender may charge you 12 months’ worth of interest as a penalty.

2. Percentage of balance. Some lenders use a percentage of the amount left on the loan to determine the penalty fee. This is a common way to calculate a mortgage prepayment penalty fee. For example, if you bought a house for $500,000 and have already paid down half the mortgage, but want to pay off the remaining balance in a lump sum before the full term of your loan is up. In this case, your lender might require that you pay a percentage of the remaining $250,000 as a penalty.

3. Flat fee. Some lenders simply have a flat fee as a prepayment penalty. This means that no matter how early you pay back your loan, the amount you’ll have to pay will always be the prepayment penalty amount that’s disclosed in the loan agreement.

Recommended: Debt Payoff Guide

Avoiding a Prepayment Penalty

Trying to avoid prepayment penalties can seem like an exercise in futility, but it is possible. The easiest way to avoid them is to take out a loan or mortgage without prepayment penalties. If that’s not possible, you may still have options.

If you already have a personal loan that has a prepayment penalty, and you want to pay your loan off early, talk to your lender. You may be offered an opportunity to pay off your loan closer to the final due date and sidestep the penalty. Or you might find that even if you pay off the loan early and incur a penalty, it might be less than the interest you would have paid over the remaining term of the loan.

You can also take a look at your loan origination paperwork to see if it allows for a partial payoff without penalty. If it does, you might be able to prepay a portion of your loan each year, which allows you to get out of debt sooner without requiring you to pay a penalty fee.

For example, some mortgages allow payments of up to 25% of the purchase price once a year, without charging a prepayment penalty. This means that while you might not be able to pay off your full mortgage, you could pay up to 25% of the purchase price each year without triggering a penalty.

Some lenders shift their prepayment penalty terms over the life of your loan. This means that as you get closer to the end of your original loan term, you might face lower prepayment penalty fees or no fees at all. If that’s the case, it might make sense to wait a year or two until the prepayment penalties are less or no longer apply.

When it comes to your money, you don’t want to make any assumptions. You still need to do your due diligence by asking potential lenders if they have a prepayment penalty. The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) requires lenders to provide documentation of any loan fees they charge, including a prepayment penalty. Also, under the TILA, consumers have the right to cancel a loan agreement within three days of closing on the loan without the lender taking any adverse action against them.


💡 Quick Tip: Generally, the larger the personal loan, the bigger the risk for the lender — and the higher the interest rate. So one way to lower your interest rate is to try downsizing your loan amount.

Awarded Best Online Personal Loan by NerdWallet.
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The Takeaway

When taking on debt, paying as little as possible on top of the principal amount borrowed is a good general rule of thumb. Consumers generally seek the lowest interest rates they can qualify for, a loan term that they feel comfortable with, and a loan that doesn’t add fees to their debt load.

A prepayment penalty is one fee that can be avoided by asking questions of the lender and looking at the loan documents with a discerning eye.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. Checking your rate takes just a minute.


SoFi’s Personal Loan was named NerdWallet’s 2023 winner for Best Online Personal Loan overall.


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SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.


Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Understanding Market Capitalization

What Is Market Capitalization?

Market capitalization (market cap) represents the total market value of a company’s outstanding shares. A company’s market capitalization, or market cap, provides a good measure of its size and value versus revenue or sales figures.

Knowing what the market cap is for a given company can help investors compare it to other companies of a similar size.

Note the market cap (the value of a company’s total equity) is different than a company’s market value, which is a more complex calculation based on various metrics, including return-on-equity, price-to-earnings, and more.

Key Points

•   Market capitalization (market cap) represents the total market value of a company’s outstanding shares and provides a measure of its size and value.

•   Market cap helps investors compare companies of similar size and evaluate their potential risk and reward.

•   Companies are categorized into small-cap, mid-cap, large-cap, and mega-cap based on their market cap range.

•   Smaller companies (nano-cap and micro-cap) can be riskier but offer growth opportunities, while larger companies (large-cap and mega-cap) tend to be more stable.

•   Market cap can be calculated by multiplying the current price per share by the number of outstanding shares.

Market-Cap Categories

Analysts, as well as index and exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers commonly sort stocks into small-, mid-, and large-cap stocks, though some include a broader range that goes from micro or nano-cap stocks all the way to mega cap on the large end.

The size limits of these categories can change depending on market conditions but here are some rough parameters.

Nano-cap and Micro-cap Stocks

Nano- and micro-cap companies are those with a total market capitalization under $300 million. Some define nano-cap stocks as those under $50 million, and micro-cap stocks as those between $50 million and $300 million.

These smaller companies can be riskier than large-cap companies (though not always). Many microcap stocks trade over-the-counter (OTC). Over-the-counter stocks are not traded on a public exchange like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) or Nasdaq. Instead, these stocks are traded through a broker-dealer network.

As a result there may be less information available about these companies, which can make them difficult to assess.

Small-cap Stocks

Small-cap companies are considered to be in the $300 million to $2 billion range. They are generally younger and faster-growing than large-cap stocks. Investors often look to small-caps for growth opportunities.

While small-cap companies have historically outperformed large-caps, these stocks can also be more risky, and may require more due diligence from would-be investors.

Mid-cap

Mid-cap companies lie between small- and large-cap companies, with market caps of $2 billion to $10 billion.

Some investors may find mid-cap stocks attractive because they can offer some of the growth potential of small-caps with some of the maturity of large-caps. But mid-cap stocks likewise can share some of the downsides of those two categories, being somewhat vulnerable to competition in some cases, or lacking the impetus to expand in others.

Large-cap

Large-cap stocks are those valued between $10 billion and $200 billion, roughly. Large-cap companies tend not to offer the same kind of growth as small- and mid-cap companies. But what they may lack in performance they can deliver in terms of stability.

These are the companies that tend to be more well established, less vulnerable to sudden market shocks (and less likely to collapse). Some investors use large-cap stocks as a hedge against riskier investments.

Mega-cap

Mega cap describes the largest publicly traded companies based on their market capitalization. Mega cap stocks typically include industry-leading companies with highly recognizable brands with valuations above $200 billion.

Recommended: Investing 101 Guide

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How to Calculate Market Cap

To figure out a company’s market cap, simply multiply the number of outstanding shares by the current price per share. If a company has 10 million outstanding shares of stock selling for $30 per share, the company’s market cap is $300 million.

Share prices fluctuate constantly, and as a result, so does market cap. You should be able to find the number of outstanding shares listed on a company’s balance sheet, where it’s referred to as “capital stock.” Companies update this number on their quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Market Cap Formula

The formula for determining a company’s market cap is fairly simple:

Current price per share x Total # of outstanding shares = Market capitalization

Remember that the share price doesn’t determine the size of the company or vice versa. When measuring market cap you always have to look at the share price multiplied by the number of outstanding shares.

•   Company A could be worth $100 per share, and have 50,000 shares outstanding, for a total market cap of $5 million.

•   Company B could be worth $25 per share, and have 20 million shares outstanding, for a total market cap of $500 million.

Market Cap and Number of Shares

In some cases, market cap can change if the number of stocks increases or decreases. For example, a company may issue new stock or even buy back stock. When a company issues new shares, the stock price may dip as investors worry about dilution.

Stock splits do not increase market share, because the price of the stock is also split proportionally.

Changes to the number of shares are relatively rare, however. More commonly, investors will notice that changes in share price have the most frequent impact on changing market cap.

💡 Quick Tip: If you’re opening an investment account for the first time, consider starting with an amount of money you’re prepared to lose. Investing always includes the risk of loss, and until you’ve gained some experience, it’s probably wise to start small.

Market Cap Versus Stock Price

If you’re new to investing, you may assume a company’s share price is the clearest indicator of how large a company is. You may even assume it’s as important in choosing a stock as market cap.

While the share price of a company tells you how much it costs to own a piece of the company, it doesn’t really give you any hints as to the size of the company or how much the company is worth.

Market cap, on the other hand, might give you some hints about how a particular stock might behave. For example, large companies may be more stable and experience less volatility than their smaller counterparts.

Recommended: Intrinsic Value vs. Market Value

Evaluate Stocks Using Market Cap

Understanding the market cap of a company can help investors evaluate the company in the context of other companies of similar size.

For instance, as noted above market cap can clue investors into stocks’ potential risk and reward, in part because the size of a company can be related to where that company is in its business development. Investors can also evaluate how a company is doing by comparing its performance to an index that tracks other companies of a similar size, a process known as benchmarking.

•   The S&P 500, a common benchmark, is a market-cap weighted index of the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies.

•   The S&P MidCap 400, for example, is a market-cap weighted index that tracks mid-cap stocks.

•   The Russell 2000 is a common benchmark index for small cap stocks.

Within this system, companies with higher market cap make up a greater proportion of the index. You may often hear the S&P 500 used as a proxy for how the stock market is doing on the whole.

💡 Quick Tip: Look for an online brokerage with low trading commissions as well as no account minimum. Higher fees can cut into investment returns over time.

What Market Cap Can Tell You

Here are some characteristics of larger market-cap companies versus smaller-cap stocks:

Volatility: Larger companies, also often dubbed blue-chip stocks, tend to be less volatile than smaller stocks and tend to offer steady returns. What’s more, compared to larger companies, they have relatively few resources, such as access to cheaper credit and access to liquidity.

Revenue: Larger stocks tend to have more international exposure when it comes to their sales and revenue streams. Meanwhile, smaller stocks can be more oriented to the domestic economy.

Growth: Smaller companies tend to have better odds of offering faster growth.

Valuation: Larger stocks tend to be more expensive than smaller ones and have higher valuations when it comes to metrics like price-to-earnings ratios.

Dividends: Many investors are also drawn to large cap stocks because companies of this size frequently pay out dividends. When reinvested, these dividends can be a powerful driver of growth inside investor portfolios.

Market Cap and Diversification

So how do you use market cap to help build a portfolio? Market cap can help you choose stocks that could help you diversify.

Building a diversified portfolio made up of a broad mix of investments is a strategy that can help mitigate risk.

That’s because different types of investments perform differently over time and depending on market conditions. This idea applies to stock from companies of varying sizes, as well. Depending on market conditions, small, medium, and large cap companies could each beat the market or trail behind.

Because large-cap companies tend to have more international exposure, they might be doing well when the global economy is showing signs of strength. On the flip side, because small-cap companies tend to have greater domestic exposure, they might do well when the U.S. economy is expected to be robust.

Recommended: Guide to Investing in International Stocks

Meanwhile, larger-cap companies could also be outperforming when there’s a downturn, because they may have more cash at hand and prove to be resilient. In recent years, the biggest companies in the U.S. have been linked to the technology. Therefore, picking by market cap can have an impact on what kind of sectors are in an investor’s portfolio as well.

What Is Free-Float Market Cap?

Float is the number of outstanding shares that are available for trading by the public. Therefore, free-float market cap is calculating market cap but excluding locked-in shares, typically those held by company executives.

For example, it’s common for companies to provide employees with stock options or restricted stock units as part of their compensation package. These become available to employees according to a vesting schedule. Before vesting, employees typically don’t have access to these shares and can’t sell them on the open market.

The free-float method of calculating market cap excludes shares that are not available on the open market, such as those that were awarded as part of compensation packages. As a result, the free-float calculation can be much smaller than the full market cap calculation.

However, this method could be considered to be a better way to understand market cap because it provides a more accurate representation of the movement of stocks that are currently in play. Many of the major indexes, such as the S&P 500 and the MSCI indices, use the free-float method.

Market Cap vs Enterprise Value

While market cap is the total value of shares outstanding, enterprise value includes any debt that the company has. Enterprise value also looks at the whole value of a company, rather than just the equity value.

Here is the formula for enterprise value (EV):

Market cap + market value of debt – cash and equivalents.

A more extended version of EV is here:

Common shares + preferred shares + market value of debt + minority interest – cash and equivalents.

The Takeaway

Market capitalization is a common way that analysts and investors describe the value and size of different companies. Market cap is simply the price per share multiplied by the number of outstanding shares. Given that prices fluctuate constantly, so does the market cap of each company, but the parameters are broad enough that investors generally know whether a company is a small cap vs. a mid cap vs. a large or mega cap.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).


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FAQ

What is the maximum market cap?

In theory there is no cap on market cap; i.e. there is no maximum size a company can be. As of Aug. 21, 2023, the top five biggest companies by market cap, according to Forbes, are: Apple ($2.744 trillion), Microsoft ($2.353 trillion), Saudi Aramco ($2.224 trillion), Alphabet (Google) ($1.624 trillion), Amazon ($1.336 trillion).

How does market cap go up?

A company’s market cap can grow if the share price goes up.

Are large-cap stocks good?

The market cap of any company is neither good nor bad; it’s simply a way to measure the company’s size and value relative to other companies in the same sector or industry. You can have mega cap companies that underperform and micro-cap companies that outperform.


SoFi Invest®
SoFi Invest refers to the two investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.
1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“SoFi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.
2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.
For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above, including state licensure of SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, please visit SoFi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or pre-qualification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.

Investment Risk: Diversification can help reduce some investment risk. It cannot guarantee profit, or fully protect in a down market.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

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Class A vs Class B vs Class C Shares, Explained

Class A vs Class B vs Class C Shares, Explained

Broadly speaking, Class A, Class B, and Class C shares are different categories of company that have different voting rights and different levels of access to distributions and dividends. Companies may use these tiers so that certain key shareholders, such as founders or executives, have more voting power than ordinary shareholders. These shareholders also may have priority on the company’s profits and assets, and may have different access to dividends.

Not all companies have alternate stock classes. And what can make share categories even more complicated is that while the classifications are common, each company can define their stock classes, meaning that they can vary from company to company. That makes it even more important for investors to know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase a certain type of stock. Understanding how different share classes typically differ can help when making investment decisions or analyzing business news.

Key Points

•   Class A, Class B, and Class C shares are different categories of company stock with varying voting rights and access to dividends.

•   Companies may use different share classes to give certain shareholders more voting power and priority on profits.

•   Share classes can vary from company to company, making it important for investors to understand the specific terms and differences.

•   Class A shares generally have more voting power and higher priority for dividends, while Class B shares are common shares with no preferential treatment.

•   Class C shares can refer to shares given to employees or alternate share classes available to public investors, with varying restrictions and voting rights.

Why Companies Have Different Types of Stock Shares

When a company goes public, they are selling portions of their company, known as stocks, to shareholders.

Shareholders own a portion of the company’s assets and profits and have a say in how the company is governed. To mitigate risk and retain majority control of the company, a company can restrict the amount of stock they sell and retain majority ownership in the company. Or they can create different shareholder classes with different rights.

By creating multiple shareholder classes when they go public, a company can ensure that executives maintain control of the company and have more influence over business decisions. For example, while ordinary shareholders, or Class B shareholders, may have one vote per share owned, individuals with executive shares, or Class A shares, may have 100 votes per share owned. Executives also may get first priority of profits, which can be important in the case of an acquisition or closure, where there is only a finite amount of profit.

Different stock classes can also reward early investors. For example, some companies may designate Class A investors as those who invested with the company prior to a certain time period, such as a merger. These investors may have more votes per share and rights to dividends than Class B investors. A company’s charter, perspective, and bylaws should outline the differences between the classes.

Class differentiation has become more critical in creating a portfolio in recent years because investors have access to different classes in a way they may not have had access in the past. For example, mutual funds frequently divide their shares into A, B, and C class shares based on the type of investor they want to attract.


💡 Quick Tip: Before opening an investment account, know your investment objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance. These fundamentals will help keep your strategy on track and with the aim of meeting your goals.

The Different Types of Shares

Just like there are different types of stock, there are different types of shareholders. Because different stock classes have such different terms, depending on the company, investors may use additional terminology to describe the stock they hold. This can include:

Preferred shares

Investors who buy preferred shares may not have voting rights, but may have access to a regular dividend that may not be available to shareholders of common stock.

Common shares

Sometimes called “ordinary shares,” common shares are stocks bought and measured on the market. Owners have voting rights. They may have dividends and access to profits, though they may come after other investors, such as executive shareholders and preferred shareholders have been paid.

Nonvoting shares

These are typically offered by private companies or as part of a compensation package to employees. Companies may use non voting shares so employees and former employees don’t have an outsize influence in company decision-making, or so that power remains consolidated with the executive board and outside shareholders. Some companies create a separate class of stock, Class C stock, that comes without voting rights and that may be less expensive than other classes.

Executive shares

Typically, these shares are held by founders or company executives. Their stock may have outsize voting rights and may also have restrictions on the ability to sell the shares. Executive shares usually do not trade on the public markets.

Advisory shares

Often offered to advisors or large investors of a company, these shares may have preferred rights and do not trade on public markets.
Recommended: Shares vs. Stocks: Differences to Know

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What Are Class A Shares?

While the specific attributes of Class A shares depend on the company, they generally come with more voting power and a higher priority for dividends and profit in the event of liquidation. Class A shares may be more expensive than Class B shares, or may not be available to the general public.

Many companies can have different stock tiers that trade at different prices. For instance, Company X may have Class A stock that regularly trades at hundreds of thousands of dollars while its Class B stock may trade for hundreds of dollars per share. Class B stockholders may also only have a small percentage of the vote that a Class A stockholder has. And while Class A stockholders might be able to convert their shares into Class B shares, a Class B shareholder may not be able to convert their shares into Class A shares.

Many of the tech companies that have gone public in recent years have also used a dual-share class system.

In some cases, shareholders are not allowed to trade their Class A shares, so they have a conversion that allows the owner to convert them into Class B, which they can sell or trade. Executives may also be able to sell their shares in a secondary offering, following the IPO.


💡 Quick Tip: Distributing your money across a range of assets — also known as diversification — can be beneficial for long-term investors. When you put your eggs in many baskets, it may be beneficial if a single asset class goes down.

What Are Class B Shares?

Often companies refer to their Class B shares as “common shares” or “ordinary shares,” (But occasionally, companies flip the definition and have Class A shares designated as common shares and Class B shares as founder and executive shares). Investors can buy and sell common shares on a public stock exchange, where, typically, one share equals one vote. Class B shares carry no preferential treatment when it comes to dividing profits or dividends.

What Are Class C Shares?

Some companies also offer Class C shares, which they may give to employees as part of their compensation package. These shares may have specific restrictions, such as an inability to trade the shares.

Class C shares also may also refer to alternate share classes available to public investors. Often priced lower than Class A shares and with restrictions on voting rights, these shares may be more accessible to larger groups of investors. But this is not always the case. For example, Alphabet has Class A and Class C shares. Both tend to trade at similar prices.

The difference between Class C and common stock shares can be subtle. It’s important to note that these stock classes vary depending on the company. So doing research and understanding exactly which type of shares you’re buying is key before you commit to purchasing a certain class of stock.

Recommended: Investing for Beginners: Basic Strategies to Know

Class A vs Class B vs Class C Shares

What Are Dual Class Shares?

Companies that offer more than one class of shares have “dual class shares.” This is a fairly common practice, and some companies offer dual class shares that automatically convert to a common share with voting privilege at a set period of time.

These may be startups who go public through IPO and do not want public investors to have a say in the company’s decision-making. There has been controversy about companies offering two share classes of stock to the public, with detractors concerned that multiple share classes may lead to governance issues, such as reduced accountability. But others argue that multiple share classes can be an asset for a public company, leading to improved performance.

The Takeaway

Class A, Class B, and Class C shares have different voting rights and different levels of access to distributions and dividends. It can be difficult to determine which investment class is the best option for you if you’re deciding to invest in a public company that offers multiple share classes. Beyond market price, understanding how the stock will function in your overall portfolio as well as your personal investing philosophy can help guide you choose the best share class for you.

For example, investors who may be looking for shorter-term investments may choose a stock class without voting privileges. Other investors who want to be active in corporate governance may prefer share classes that come with voting rights. And some investors may be looking for stocks that provide guaranteed dividends, which may guide their decision toward one class of shares.

Ready to invest in your goals? It’s easy to get started when you open an investment account with SoFi Invest. You can invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and more. SoFi doesn’t charge commissions, but other fees apply (full fee disclosure here).

For a limited time, opening and funding an Active Invest account gives you the opportunity to get up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.

Photo credit: iStock/g-stockstudio


SoFi Invest®
SoFi Invest refers to the two investment and trading platforms operated by Social Finance, Inc. and its affiliates (described below). Individual customer accounts may be subject to the terms applicable to one or more of the platforms below.
1) Automated Investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser (“SoFi Wealth“). Brokerage services are provided to SoFi Wealth LLC by SoFi Securities LLC.
2) Active Investing and brokerage services are provided by SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA(www.finra.org)/SIPC(www.sipc.org). Clearing and custody of all securities are provided by APEX Clearing Corporation.
For additional disclosures related to the SoFi Invest platforms described above, including state licensure of SoFi Digital Assets, LLC, please visit SoFi.com/legal.
Neither the Investment Advisor Representatives of SoFi Wealth, nor the Registered Representatives of SoFi Securities are compensated for the sale of any product or service sold through any SoFi Invest platform. Information related to lending products contained herein should not be construed as an offer or pre-qualification for any loan product offered by SoFi Bank, N.A.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

Claw Promotion: Customer must fund their Active Invest account with at least $10 within 30 days of opening the account. Probability of customer receiving $1,000 is 0.028%. See full terms and conditions.

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