Some events change the number of shares you hold without your having bought or sold anything. They often worry people needlessly: the key is to tell apart what changes from what does not.
The split — more shares, same value
A company can decide to divide each of its shares into several: that is a split. In a 4-for-1 split, each share becomes 4 shares, and the price of each is divided accordingly.
A neutral worked example: 10 shares at $400 are worth $4,000. After a 4-for-1 split, you hold 40 shares at $100 — still $4,000.
- What changes: the number of shares, and the price of each.
- What does not change: the total value of your position, your share of the company, your total acquisition cost — and therefore your gains.
It is a change of unit of measure, not a wealth event — like getting change in smaller coins. A verifiable historical fact: Apple split its shares 4-for-1 in 2020; its shareholders came out neither richer nor poorer.
The consolidation — the exact reverse
A consolidation (reverse split) merges several shares into one: in a 1-for-5, 100 shares at $2 become 20 shares at $10. Same invariants: total value and total cost do not move.
The dividend — a payment, not a gift
A dividend is a transfer: the company takes money out of its coffers and hands it to shareholders. On the payment date, the share price normally reflects that outflow — the money received on one side matches value removed on the other. A dividend is income, recorded separately from your price gains, with its own tax treatment depending on the account type.
What this changes for your tracking
Everyfolio records a split or a consolidation as an adjustment carrying a ratio: your quantity is multiplied, your total cost stays intact, and the average cost per share recalculates on its own. No gain appears or disappears — exactly as in reality. Dividends, for their part, accumulate in their own column, never blended into price returns.
Informative, general content — not personalized advice. For your situation: your institution or an advisor.