Growth, Value & Dividend Stocks

The main kinds of stocks and how each one behaves.

1. Growth Stocks: Paying for the Future — Growth stocks belong to companies whose sales and profits are expanding fast. Investors pay up for that future, which brings big potential and big swings. Here is how to recognize them and what to expect.
2. Value Stocks: Buying the Unloved — Value stocks trade at low prices relative to their earnings, assets or cash flow. Sometimes that is a bargain; sometimes it is a warning. Here is how value investors think and how to avoid value traps.
3. Dividend Stocks & Income — Dividend stocks pay shareholders a slice of profits in cash, usually every quarter. Here is how to read dividend yield and payout ratio, spot a dividend at risk, and use reinvesting to compound.
4. Cyclical vs. Defensive Businesses — Some businesses boom and bust with the economy; others sell things people buy in any weather. Here is how cyclical and defensive stocks differ, with real volatility numbers.
5. Large, Mid & Small Caps — Market capitalization sorts companies by size, from giants worth trillions to small firms worth a few hundred million. Here is how the size groups are defined and how they have behaved over two decades.
6. Penny Stocks & Why They Bite — Penny stocks look cheap and exciting, but they come with thin trading, little information and a long history of fraud. Here is what they are and the red flags to watch for.