[MuffinFlavored]

> The maturity and stability of the US stock market (by which I mean institutional and structural stability rather than price stability) make it the most frictionless, transparent and predictable place to raise equity capital.

The number one way that Apple benefits from this is giving shares to employees as compensation, right?

They aren't commonly "financing" projects with stock as far as I understand it. aka, they aren't diluting existing shareholders by issuing fresh shares to take advantage of the share price.

Since they aren't doing that, how do they benefit financially from their share price?

[tylerhou]

When Apple compensates employees with shares they issue them out of thin air IIRC. These are dilutive and are listed on their quarterly financial statements. So yes, they are financing projects with stock.

[saltcured]

They benefit from the stable marketplace every time a bit of ownership is exchanged from one party to another via stock transactions.

Compare this to some partnership or other private structure where owners may be unable to exit unless they can force the company to liquidate some assets to buy them out. Companies and investors who work that way can face liquidity hazards compared to a similar-sized stock corporation.