What's going on?

Amazon announced that it�s rolling out a �20-for-1 stock split� this week, which will hopefully be arriving sometime in June between 7am and 9pm.

What does this mean?

Amazon will be splitting each of its shares into 20, meaning every investor who owns a share in Amazon will receive 19 more come June. That won�t change much, mind you: investors will still own as much of the business as they did before, they�ll just have more stocks to show for it. And Amazon threw in another announcement while it had everyone�s attention: the company said it�s planning to buy back $10 billion worth of its own shares � a move that�ll reduce their supply significantly and push up the price of those left over (tweet this). That went down a treat: investors initially sent its stock up 11%.

Why should I care?

For markets: Amazon�s ulterior motive.
One key reason Amazon might�ve opted to split its stock is because the decision could pave the way for its inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow is a US stock index that weighs stocks based on their price rather than their market capitalization, which means it tends to avoid expensive stocks that would have an outsized influence on its price. But if Amazon slashes its stock, it�s more likely to be added to the Dow�s roster. That matters: investors plow billions of dollars into passive investment funds that track the index, so they�d be obliged to buy in and push Amazon�s stock even higher.

For you personally: Big whoop.
There�s another reason Amazon might be keen: it should make it easier for retail investors like you � who currently have to stump up nearly $3,000 for one of its shares � to buy into the company. But for all the hype, it�s important to remember that this isn�t exactly revolutionary. Plenty of investment platforms offer fractional investing, after all, so you�ve been able to buy into eye-wateringly expensive companies for a few years now.