Recently, many people have been a bit confused about the basic concepts of stock trading, such as why U.S. stocks can be bought cheaply, while Taiwan and Hong Kong stocks require so much money? Actually, the answer to this question lies in the trading units.

Let's start with the most basic question: How much is one share worth? This is a good question because many people actually can't distinguish between the stock price and the face value of the stock. The stock price is the current market transaction price, entirely determined by buyers and sellers, and fluctuates in real time. The face value of a stock is just a historical remnant, representing the company's initial capital record, and has no direct impact on investment. So, if you want to know how much one share is worth, just look at the current quote.

For example, Tesla, on January 6, 2023, was only $101.81 per share, and by August 2, it had risen to $254.11, more than doubling in less than seven months. This is why some say U.S. stocks are cheap — not because U.S. companies are not valuable, but because the price per share is relatively low.

But here’s a key point: the trading units in different countries' stock markets are fundamentally different. U.S. stocks are traded per share; you can buy as many shares as you want, very flexibly. In Taiwan, the minimum trading unit is one "lot," which equals 1,000 shares. This means if you buy one lot of TSMC, you need to buy 1,000 shares at once. If TSMC's stock price is 1080 Taiwan dollars per share, then one lot costs 1.08 million Taiwan dollars, which is why many people think Taiwan stocks are expensive.

The situation in Hong Kong is a bit different. They use a unit called a "lot," but how many shares are in one lot depends on the stock price. For Tencent, at one point, it was 418 Hong Kong dollars per share, and one lot was 100 shares, so trading one lot requires 41,800 Hong Kong dollars. But some Hong Kong stocks might have 500 or 1,000 shares per lot, depending on the stock price.

In simple terms, the answer to "How much is one share?" depends on the real-time quote. But when you actually buy, you must follow market rules — U.S. stocks can be bought freely, Taiwan stocks require a minimum of 1,000 shares, and Hong Kong stocks are bought by lots. This is also why U.S. stocks are more friendly to small investors, with much lower capital requirements. If your funds are limited, you can consider using leverage tools to participate, which allows for more flexible control of your positions.