There is a specific number of stocks for each publicly traded company, right? With all the avenues of trading, how are there never shortages of a stock?
In: Economics
Yes, each company has a set number of shares. This can change (a company can choose to issue more shares or buy back and retire shares) but at any given moment in time, the number of shares is limited.
There is never a shortage because for every person who wants to buy a share of stock, there must be a person willing to sell their share of stock. That is what the stock price actually is – the price at which the number of people wanting to buy is equal to the number of people wanting to sell. If demand for the stock goes up (more people want to buy) then the price of the stock will rise (enticing more people to sell and fewer to buy) until equilibrium is reached.
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