In the stock market,for someone to make money, does that mean someone has to lose money?

Question

When I am buy stock at a lower price point than it was trading a 1 day or week, month or year later, does it mean that somebody during that same time frame is losing the difference?

In: Economics

Answer 1

Not necessarily. When you buy or sell, you are buying or selling at the fair market value at that point in time. Stocks can go up or down over time and no one can predict the future, so even if you have a gain, that next buyer could also have a gain if the stock continues to climb.