How the stock market works
The stock market unlocks when Banks reach level 1. There are 16 goods, each tied to a building, starting with Cereals (Farm) and ending with Licorice (Idleverse). Prices move every minute, and each good drifts between rising, falling, stable and chaotic trends. Profits are counted in dollars and turn into cookies at a rate based on your CpS, so a good trade is worth more the more you produce.
Resting values
Each good tends to drift back toward a resting value. For the n-th good it is about $10 × n + (Bank level − 1), so Cereals rests near $10 at bank level 1 and Licorice near $160. Leveling your Banks raises every resting value. The table on this page computes these values for your bank level, along with simple buy and sell zones at half and one and a half times the resting value.
Overhead and brokers
Every purchase carries an overhead fee of 20%. Hiring brokers lowers it, and you can hire more as you own more grandmas. Because the overhead applies to every buy, lowering it is the single biggest boost to long-term profit. Warehouse space, which limits how much of each good you can hold, grows with the number of the related building you own and with office upgrades.
A simple strategy
Buy goods that are well below their resting value, ideally when the trend turns upward, and sell once they climb above it. Holding through dips is fine since prices recover over time. Patience matters more than timing. The achievements for total profit come naturally from repeating this across all 16 goods.
Frequently asked questions
How do I unlock the stock market?
Level your Banks to level 1 with a sugar lump.
When should I buy stocks?
When a good trades well below its resting value, especially when its trend starts rising.