A little clairification please Are you asking for a company / stock prospectus? Or What stocks (generically speaking) are - kind of document
Now the 64 thousand dollar question And I'm not trying to be a jerk here Are you trying to find out how they really work, or How wall street/ TV talking heads/ the actual companies - would have us believe they work eta here's a link to a "pat" explaination http://www.investopedia.com/articles/02/101102.asp