Stock chart basics

Stocks & charts

An ownership piece. A price picture.

Finn, ChartQuest's turtle guide with an orange shell, jetpack, and gold compass

A stock share is a piece of company ownership. Its chart shows price per share over time. Our examples are hypothetical.

A share is an ownership piece

The company is divided into shares. One share is one piece.

One highlighted share among twelve illustrated pieces of a company; the real share count varies.

Read price per share

This chart uses US dollars per share. Each candle covers one day.

Hypothetical stock price per share over four days, with price labels and earlier-to-later arrow.

Read one daily candle

The body joins the day’s start and finish. Wicks show its extremes.

Hypothetical daily stock candle starts at $24 per share and finishes at $38; top $43 and bottom $18.

Does a stock chart show the company’s total value?

Show answer

No. This chart shows a price per share. It does not show the whole company’s value.

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Made by ChartQuest · Hypothetical illustrations · Sources checked 2026-10-08: Investor.gov: Stocks · CME: Chart Types