The Stock Market

Many large businesses started out as mom and pop shops or small businesses. These companies are now huge corporations that sold stock to raise money in order to reach new heights in their own business.

In 1948, McDonald's® restaurant started as a single restaurant in California and is now one of the world's biggest restaurant chains. The company started selling stock in 1965 and is still listed the New York Stock Exchange.

How has the stock price changed over the years as the restaurant has grown? Open the Yahoo! Finance website and select the Max button from below the chart. Has the stock price gone up over time?

You can check the price of other companies that sell stock (e.g. Microsoft, Apple, Coca Cola) by typing their names in the box at the top left of the chart on the website.