text: can someone give me a detailed explanation on what stocks are? what are stocks?  how do you go about betting on stock markets? stock : an instrument that signifies an ownership position (called equity) in a corporation, and represents a claim on its proportional share in the corporation's assets and profits. ownership in the company is determined by the number of shares a person owns divided by the total number of shares outstanding. for example, if a company has 1000 shares of stock outstanding and a person owns 50 of them, then he/she owns 5% of the company. most stock also provides voting rights, which give shareholders a proportional vote in certain corporate decisions. only a certain type of company called a corporation has stock; other types of companies such as sole proprietorships and limited partnerships do not issue stock. also called equity or equity securities or corporate stock.