Many people ask how much a share costs when trading stocks.

Actually, this question seems simple, but it involves differences in trading rules across various markets.
Today, let's clarify this basic knowledge.

First, understand what a share is.
A share is the smallest unit of stock trading.
To raise funds, a company divides its equity into several parts for trading; each part is one share.
For example, if a company has a capital of 10 million yuan and divides it into 1 million shares, then each share has a face value of 10 yuan.
However, it’s important to note that the face value of a stock and its market price are two different things.
The face value only records the original capital contribution, while the stock price is determined by the company's profitability and investor expectations, and it fluctuates at any time.

For investors, the price of one share is simply the current market price.
Taking Tesla as an example in August 2023, the quoted price was $254 per share, but by January, it was around $101.
In less than seven months, the stock price more than doubled.
The same applies to the Taiwan stock market; just look at the real-time quote to know how much one share costs.

But here’s an interesting point: the trading units differ across markets.
In the US stock market, the trading unit is 1 share; buying one Tesla share means paying the current stock price.
In the Taiwan stock market, trading is done in lots, with 1 lot equal to 1,000 shares.
This means buying one lot of TSMC is equivalent to buying 1,000 shares at once, which is why the trading costs in Taiwan stocks seem higher.
In Hong Kong, trading is calculated in lots as well, and the number of shares per lot varies with the stock price, possibly 100, 500, 1,000, or 2,000 shares.

Therefore, if you don’t have much capital, the US stock market’s trading unit is 1 share, which has a relatively low threshold and is more flexible.
In contrast, Taiwan and Hong Kong stocks have larger trading units, requiring more initial capital.
This also explains why many beginners think US stocks are cheap and Taiwan stocks are expensive—ultimately, it’s about how much a share costs and how trading is conducted.