Your Favorite Stocks Just Got More Affordable. Here's How

If you have your eyes on a few specific companies whose price tags are too high for your investing budget, there may be a way to snag them anyway: fractional shares. In the past, it was common to wind up with fractional shares of stock (meaning, a portion of a share, as opposed to a full share) after a stock split. If share prices increase and you sell your fractional share, you'll see gains that proportionate to the amount of that stock you hold (for example, if a company's share price increases $10 and you own a quarter of a share, you make $2.50 if you sell).