# Stock A type of [security](security.md) which grants buyers access to [income-cashflows](income-cashflows.md) in a common economic enterprise. Stocks are valued by the [market](market.md) as a combination of three factors which inform price formation: 1. Discounted future cash flows 2. Momentum 3. Public sentiment Stocks return [income-cashflows](income-cashflows.md) generated by the enterprise to shareholders via three processes: 1. Dividend payments 2. Stock buybacks 3. Mergers and Acquisitions ## References 1. Fama, Eugene F. "Efficient capital markets: A review of theory and empirical work." The journal of Finance 25, no. 2 (1970): 383-417. 1. Janeway, William H. Doing capitalism in the innovation economy: Markets, speculation and the state. Cambridge University Press, 2012. 1. Lefevre, Edwin. 2004. Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. Vol. 175. John Wiley & Sons.