Can share value be negative?

Asked by: Allie Romaguera  |  Last update: May 23, 2025
Score: 4.9/5 (64 votes)

Can a stock go negative? Fortunately, it is not possible for a stock's price to go into the negative territory — under zero dollars in value, that is. Still, if an investor short sells or uses margin trading, they may lose more than they invested.

Is it possible to have negative shares?

Can stocks go negative? The lowest a stock price could possibly go is $0 per share. Even if the value of the stock is negative, meaning you'd have to pay someone to take the shares off your hands, it would never make sense to pay someone to take ownership of stock since it doesn't require any resources to hold.

Why are my shares showing negative?

The negative number you see is likely just tracking the total value lost compared to the value you originally spent to acquire the stock.

Can you have a negative price per share?

To understand a negative P/E ratio, it's important to note that the value of a stock can never be negative.

Is it possible for stock price to be negative?

The value of the stock itself can't go negative. It can only become zero is the company goes bankrupt. The only case when you can see negative result is if you bought the stock and the price declined.

How To Value A Business - Warren Buffett

37 related questions found

Can a stock value become negative?

No. A stock price can't go negative, or, that is, fall below zero. So an investor does not owe anyone money. They will, however, lose whatever money they invested in the stock if the stock falls to zero.

Can a share price go to zero?

To summarize, yes, a stock can lose its entire value.

Can value per share be negative?

Well, just to be clear, the value of a stock can fall extremely low and might even go down to zero (if the company goes bankrupt), but at no point will the value become negative.

Can Equity Value ever be negative?

Current Equity Value for a public company cannot be negative because neither its Current Share Price nor its Common Share Count can be negative. However, Current Enterprise Value could be negative if, for example, the company's Current Equity Value is $100 million, and it has $200 million in Cash and no Debt.

Can stock on hand be negative?

As the name suggests, the term negative inventory means having less than zero stock of that particular item. Obviously, you cannot actually, in physical terms, have less than zero of an item. It shows up like this in your system because you have a poor system to manage your inventory.

What is a negative share?

What are negative shares? Negative share are caused when more shares are closed than initially opened. Therefore, the amount of shares open becomes negative which is impossible. IMPORTANT NOTE: When this condition exists, the P&L is not correct and may be drastically wrong! These positions must be fixed before filing!

What does a negative stock mean?

Negative stock means Negative indicator in On-Hand stock although there is no stock available in Inventory (assume it is 0) in a warehouse , system will allow the system to goods issue even there is no stock , We can issue 5 pieces from a location that has only 3 pieces. The result will be -2.

Why is McDonald's equity negative?

Negative Equity: Negative Equity was caused by McDonald's share buybacks. When a company buys back its own share when the share price is about the book value per share, the company has to keep the repurchased shares in the balance sheet and cannot just eliminate those.

Why my shares are showing negative?

Negative shareholders' equity indicates that a company's debts exceed its assets. It is seen as a sign of financial distress.

Do I owe money if my stock goes down?

If you invest in stocks with a cash account, you will not owe money if a stock goes down in value. The value of your investment will decrease, but you will not owe money. If you buy stock using borrowed money, however, you will owe money no matter which way the stock price goes because you have to repay the loan.

Is negative shareholder equity bad?

Negative shareholder equity

A typical example of negative shareholder equity is when significant dividend payments are made to investors, which erode the retained earnings and make the equity of the company go into the negative zone. It is usually a sign of financial distress for the company.

Is it possible to have negative equity?

Equity is valuable because you can borrow against it with a home equity loan or line of credit, or convert it to cash when you sell your home. However, in some situations, your equity can shrink, resulting in negative equity. This is when you owe more on your home than it's worth.

Why is Starbucks shareholder equity negative?

Despite being a highly profitable company, Starbucks reported negative equity due to extensive share repurchases. Over several years, Starbucks used its profits and borrowed funds to buy back shares from the open market.

Can you have a negative implied share price?

Yes, Enterprise Value can be negative… and Implied Equity Value can also be negative.

What happens if a stock goes below $1?

Currently, if a company's stock falls below $1, it has 180 days to regain compliance with the minimum price requirement. If it fails to do so, the company can request an additional 180 days and, in some cases, appeal the delisting decision to a Nasdaq hearings panel.

Can a stock go to zero?

When a stock's value falls to zero, or near zero, it typically signals that the company is bankrupt. The stocks are frozen and unless the company restructures, it's likely you will lose your investment.

Can you lose money in stocks if you don't sell?

Unrealized or paper losses occur when the market value of a stock decreases, but the asset hasn't been sold yet. For example, if you bought 100 shares at $50 each, your total investment is $5,000. If the stock price drops to $30 per share, the market value is $3,000, producing an unrealized loss of $2,000.

Can a share price be negative?

The simple answer is, no. Even if stock prices fluctuate or fall drastically, they cannot attain a negative value (less than zero). While stock values cannot go negative, negative shareholder equity can occur when a company's liabilities exceed its assets.

Do I lose my money if a stock is delisted?

If a company's stock is delisted from an exchange, shareholders still own their shares in the company, but the stock may trade over-the-counter, which could lead to decreased liquidity and less transparency for investors.

Can I lose more than I invest in stocks?

You can lose more than you invested – If your investments go down in value, you still have to pay back your loan and interest. You may have to put up more margin to maintain your account. If you don't, your investment firm can sell your investments to cover the margin call.