Shares
Shareholder rights, dividends, P/E and the reaction to earnings reports.
A share is a stake in the ownership of a company. A shareholder is entitled to a part of the profit (if the company pays dividends) and, as a rule, to a vote at meetings.
Dividends are not mandatory: many companies reinvest their profits in growth.
The P/E multiple (price / earnings per share) shows how much investors pay for 1 unit of annual profit.