How do shares work, for instance if i bought 100 shares from a company? tell me about the dividend?

First off, when Joe Schmoe Investor (you and I) purchase a stock, we are almost always buying it in the market, not directly from the company issuing it; that is, you're buying it from me, who bought it from someone else. Secondly, the value of your shares of stock and the amount of your dividend, if any, are mutually exclusive. A dividend is issued based on an amount of income of the company, divided by the number of shares outstanding. The value of your stock depends on many variables: the performance of the company, the market in general, politics, news, supply and demand... So if the company issued a dividend of $1 per share, you will get your $100 deposited into your brokerage account or mailed to you, if you hold the certificates of stock on your own. You may have bought the shares of stock for $100 apiece, but one day, they will be worth $101, the next day $90, the next day $250, then next day $5. (That sort of volatility is abnormal, but just know that it fluctuates). When you go to get your money back by selling your shares, you will receive whatever the market value is at that time. you may get back what you paid; you may get back less, or more.