How do you buy stocks?

One purchase in numbers

This is the sum at Walmart's closing price on Nov 6, 2026.

Many US brokers charge no commission on ordinary stock trades, so the example shows none. Others do, and some charge for other services. It is always in the broker's fee schedule, and often on the order screen before you confirm.

If you buy several times at different prices you end up with an average cost, and you can work it out with the average cost calculator.

Step by step

1. Open an account. You need a brokerage account, which holds your shares. You will be asked for details such as your Social Security number. A taxable account and a retirement account such as an IRA are treated differently for tax.

2. Add money. You pay with money that is already in the account, usually moved from your bank.

3. Find the stock. Search for the company's name or its ticker, the short code it trades under. Walmart's is WMT.

4. Choose the number and the price. A market order buys at the price available right now. A limit order names the highest price you will pay, and goes through only if someone sells at that price. The difference has its own lesson.

5. Check and confirm. Look at the sum and any fee, then confirm. When the order goes through, the shares appear in your account.

The easy part to miss

Placing the order is not the hard part. The hard part is knowing what you are buying, and that a stock can fall a long way without the company doing anything wrong. That is also why many people spread their money across several companies. Real falls in the market are in the study of every crash since 1928.

Want to look at a stock first? How Walmart has moved.