I think this has come up before, but... if I want to purchase stock for a friend as a gift, what is the process? He doesn't trade, and has no brokerage account set up. Is it still possible to gift him stock?
You can buy stock in your own brokerage account (set up one with an online firm if you do not currently have one) then request the physical certificate, but in your friends name. There is a form that you will need to complete to do this. The only problem is that the transfer agents charge $95 to print out physical certificates and the brokerage firm will pass that charge along to you.
Well, since you obviously want to be 'married' to the stock, I suggest picking something currently sexy like solar energy, alternative energy, or fertilizer. Just don't come crying to us when your new best friend stock is all down in the dumps all the time and has gone from a P/E of 70 to 1. Of course, if it gets delisted, you can always find a new 'friend.' Oh... you meant buying for another person... I misunderstood...
If this a friend with a sense of humor, do what I did. I had a lady friend (platonic, I assure you, she is 400 pounds) who always laughs and says "ewwww" whenever she sees a Honey Bucket in a field or wherever. For her birthday, I gave her a stock certificate for one share of Honey Bucket stock, mounted on a plaque with a scale model of a honey bucket. She gets the biggest laugh out of it.