"When You Buy a Stock, Who Sold It to You?"

ou tap "buy" and a second later the share is yours — but somebody had to sell it. Penny follows one order from the button to the person on the other side: the two roads every order can take, how market makers and payment for order flow make $0 commissions possible, why more than half of US trading now happens away from the exchanges, and what happens after you see "filled". In this video: • Why the company almost never sells you its stock • Road 1: the exchange, the order book, bid, ask and the spread • Road 2: market makers, wholesalers and payment for order flow • The best-price rule and why most trading happens off-exchange • Clearing houses, T+1 settlement and how your share is held • Market vs limit orders, spreads, and order routing reports Chapters 0:00 Who sold you that share? 0:20 It's (almost) never the company 0:42 Your order's journey 0:58 Road 1: the exchange 2:05 Road 2: the market maker 3:03 Payment for order flow 3:38 The best-price rule 4:14 So who sold it? 4:41 After you tap buy 5:24 What this means for you 6:14 Recap 6:32 Outro Penny E explains money stuff. New video every week. For education and entertainment only. Not financial advice. For education only, not financial advice. Market structure is simplified: order routing, best-execution and trade-through rules have exceptions, and brokers differ in how they handle orders. Off-exchange share is for January 2025 (MEMX) and changes month to month. #stockmarket #investing #personalfinance