>

That all depends on who is selling the shares. If Google is selling additional shares, then it goes to them.
investment banking isn't trading stocks >

This is not a hot take at all. It's true. 🤷🏼‍♀️ >

OP doesn't know anything if they think it's classy >

Money shills.  Providing value only to the exorbitantly wealthy >

I am finance adjacent, a very good college friend and a married in cousin both work in high finance.
No one knows what they are doing.
Everyone is guessing.
"Traditional" models for predicting future performance are outdated, because of the really scummy things companies do now. 
Every large company is hiding something that will affect their stock price.
It's all about extracting commissions. >

Ya know, that sort of sounds like society is slowly collapsing from the weight of big business. Haha, that would be crazy though >

Algo bots run the market on nano second trades. I have quite a few set up and dont have to be intelligent or savvy. >

I will upvote even if i disagree.
But i have more respect for somebody that gambles in stock and still has a bigger chance to make a profit or salvage losses, even if it takes time.
Than sombody that goes to a casino expecting to make money and then cry after loosing everything.
But that is why your opinion is unpopular. >

There was some dude who made over a billion during the 2020 crash because he knew what was coming. But yeah, it is a lot like gambling, tbh. >


he ~~knew~~ what was coming.

guessed.  He guessed what was coming. >

It’s not all guesses, sometimes people ignore bad news for short term gains and hope it all works out. Kinda happened with Madoff where there literally was a guy saying “hey, this stuff is sketchy. I wouldn’t put all my eggs in this basket” “hey, I found a few things proving this stuff is fraud, please stop giving them your money” “y’all should be criminally charged for this level of negligence in managing funds, goddamn” >

Honestly we need 2 different words for investing.
If you invest in a start up you give money to an entrepreneur who uses that money to build his business. You profit from the influence of your own money on the business.
If you invest in Google on an exchange your money never goes to Google. You profit from Google's performance independent of your investment. You're a speculator not an investor.