In theory stocks for valuable companies are valuable since you own a part of something valuable - however for that value to be liquidated without a trade to ano

In theory stocks for valuable companies are valuable since you own a part of something valuable - however for that value to be liquidated without a trade to another party the company itself needs to be acquired. It turns out that valuable acquisitions happen pretty often in the tech space due to how undervalued the network effect is by the stock market but - when a normal company is acquired it is after having shed the majority of its value. Exiting the market in the final sense really only happens with failure - instead it's closer to an act of better against the failure of the company in question - believing it will remain solvent for a long period of time. That, at least, goes for dividendless stocks - for dividend stocks the math changes a bit and more valuable companies are valued since there is an expectation that they will continue to pay current - or higher - dividends for a long time with individuals still able to leave the market by pawning off their shares. But, at EOD - it's essentially the same math but with a bit of extra fudging in one category.