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By Will Ellis

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Last Updated on January 1, 2024

Buying shares in a company, especially a company like Apple, is not like buying toilet paper. You cannot just go to the dollar store and find the cheapest stuff available.

But while there might not be shares available in every general storefront, buying shares in a company is easier these days than ever before.

This has to do with technology. In the old days, all buying, selling, and trading of shares was done in the actual, physical stock market. You had to be there or know someone who was going to be there.

Table of Contents:

• What is a Share in a Company
• The Price of Apple Shares (AAPL)
• How do Shares Work
• What Kind of Investments to Make
• What Should you not Buy

What is a Share in a Company?

To start with, a “share” in a company is the percentage ownership in the money that the company uses to function, and as a result the money that it makes in the process of functioning. If that makes it sound complicated, it really isn’t. It can be broken down into simple numbers that make it easy to understand.

For instance, imagine that a company has $99 in the bank. You give them $1 to help their business. They now have $100, $1 of which was provided by you. 

This means that because $1 is 1% of $100, you are now entitled to up to 1% of the revenue that this company makes. That is called a “share”.

So, a “share” in a company is shorthand for a kind of contract you have with the company. It means “I give you an amount of money, you give me an amount of profit based on how much money I contributed. But you might have noticed that it is “up to” 1%, not necessarily 1%.

The Price of Apple Shares (AAPL)

Let’s take a look at Apple’s share price over time. Every company has an abbreviation they use for the stock market. Apple’s is AAPL. So, here is AAPL’s stocks since the year 1982.

As you can see, it trends way, way up. More than 180,000% its original share price. 

At this point, Apple’s shares are part of what is called a “growth industry”. That means that the demand for them has grown over the last ten to fifteen years.

Growth industries are best used for long term investments. That means that you can get money out of their stock with investment strategies that take longer than two years.

It also means that you are unlikely to get money out of investments that take shorter than two years.

Focusing in on 2022

Apple is better for long term investments due to the company’s focus on long term growth. 

This is best seen by comparing that chart above, covering the value of its shares since its founding, with this chart covering the value of its shares over the last month.

Looking at Apple’s share price since 1982 makes it look like it could not be doing better. Looking at its share price since the beginning of 2022 makes it look like it is heading towards a depression.

The reason why investors usually do not worry about this is because this trend is expected. 

Here is the price of AAPL over the last six months of 2021.

Yes, it is dipping, but you can see that it dipped in October of 2021 as well. Come November of 2021, anyone who sold in a panic in October was probably feeling very silly.

How do Shares Work?

Companies would have trouble expanding if they only prioritized giving money to their shareholders and afforded no money to improving the business itself. 

Meaning that while some companies will provide profits to their shareholders equal to the shareholder’s contribution, others will give them lesser percentages of their shares, or otherwise provide other means of compensation.

Apple is one such company. Apple is guaranteed to make money—or at least that is the stance they are going to take when you approach them to buy shares from them. 

Apple has more bargaining power than you do when it comes time to broker a deal.

In the case of some “privately traded” companies, shares can only be purchased when the company in question offers them to you, or from specialized sellers. Luckily, Apple is a publicly traded company. Anyone who wants a share (and can afford one) can buy a share and enjoy a portion of Apple’s profits.

Is Now a Good Time to Buy Apple Shares?

Observing these trends, we can safely say that while AAPL shares are losing value, it is a dip in value that is within an expected margin. 

AAPL’s highest price since the beginning of 2022 was about $182. Its lowest price was about $164. 

That is a difference of $18 per share. That dip almost perfectly mirrors the dip between September of 2021. Which means that Apple will likely recover in just the way it did back then.

What Kind of Investments to Make

Like we said, it is not ideal for short term investments. That means the best way to invest in Apple is with shares. This can be done by a simple process:

1. Find a broker
2. Research them to make sure they are reliable
3. Hire them to use your money on Apple shares
4. Establish a contract to make sure that money goes to a retirement fund

Alternatively, you can use an online stock trading site.

1. Find a stock trading site
2. Make an account
3. Verify it with a minimum deposit
4. Research your stock and plan your investments
5. Purchase the Apple shares
6. Stick to your plan!

Buying the stock yourself is always going to be harder than using a broker. Not only do you have to buy enough (but not too much), but you have to let that stock sit there gathering value.

Waiting can be the hardest thing. But for a growth stock it is also the most important thing.

How do you Make Money off of Shares?

You make money off of shares by selling the dividends. When you buy a share, it is worth the amount you buy it for. Let’s say that amount is $150. But the price of that share can increase or decrease.

If it increases to $155, then you can sell the $5 that it increased. This is called a dividend.

You never make a lot of money selling dividends like this, but you do make consistent money.

What Should you not Buy?

Because an investment strategy involving Apple should be focused on the long term, it should focus on buying shares above all else. But what should you avoid buying even it is available?

1. CFDs

Avoid contracts for differences. They are highly speculative and, in the case of CFDs for AAPL, highly speculative. Anyone who is coming to you to sell them or offer to buy them is scamming you.

2. Options

Options work a lot differently than CFDs, but they amount to the same thing: Stock tricks that are meant to be sold on a dip to make a quick buck. That means you have no reason to buy them with AAPL.

3. Shorts

Nobody is going to be shorting Apple anytime soon, except for maybe certain hedge funds doing brazenly illegal trading. Unless that is you, shorting should not be even attempted on AAPL.

Conclusion

Apple is the leading company in the growth industry of consumer electronics. That means that whether you are buying through a broker or an online trading platform, you can make money off of investing into them. Just remember that it will take some time, so avoid income-focused investment strategies.

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