I have some questions about shares/stocks?

[Steve D]

1) For many companies, it is a backwards calculation - they determine how much they want to raise in dollars, figure out what the market will bear for a share of stock and work backwards to determine how many shares to issue (this is highly simplified). Thus, the different numbers of shares.

2, 3, and 4) Volume, current shares and shares that can be created are all independent. Yes, companies can create additional shares - in fact many have by doing simple stock splits (i.e, a 2 for 1 in which every current shareholder receives one share for every one they own - this leaves everyone equal, but halves the price making it more affordable). However, companies have been known to issue additional shares that are not part of a split and if they sell them on the open market or via other means, yes, the shares go down in price and current shareholders lose.

5) You have the math correct, however, making $1,000 on a $21,000 investment is a VERY VERY VERY good investment - consider that even a junk bond at its highest made 20% over 1 year - that equates to a $4,000 profit for 1 full year with an exceptionally high level of risk (these bonds were called junk for a reason). More than likely, the average investor would expect to a return closer to the historical average or about 8% a year, which on your $21,000 investment would be about $1,600. The folks who trade in and out of stock trade on pennies and in large numbers, holding many positions and acting when the stock appreciates even 2 to 3 cents (smaller investors would have their profits eaten up by the commissions on trading if they tried this) - the day traders also use margin to leverage their investments...and yes, they can lose big time also. For the average investor, the look-out period should be years, hoping for a 7 to 9 percent return which would be compounded and yield a nice bank roll after a sufficient time.