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What is a stock split?

A stock split divides each share into several shares of proportionally reduced value: the price drops, the company's value stays identical.

In a 4-for-1 split, whoever had 1 share worth $400 ends up with 4 shares at $100: same pie, more slices. Companies do it to make the stock psychologically more accessible and liquid.

A reverse split is the opposite — 10 shares at $1 become 1 at $10 — and often signals trouble: it's used to avoid delisting when the price has collapsed below exchange minimums.

Concrete example

Nvidia did a 10-for-1 split in 2024 after the stock topped $1,200: the next day each share was worth ~$120, and every holder owned ten times as many.

How you see it in InsiderFlow

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Frequently asked questions

Does a split make you money?

Directly no: it's pure arithmetic. Historically split announcements accompany good phases, but that's correlation, not cause.

Why has Berkshire Hathaway never split?

Buffett's choice to discourage short-term speculation: the class A share trades above $600,000.

Related terms

What is a stock?What is market capitalization?What is a stock buyback?