How to buy Slack shares
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This guide gives you the key knowledge you need to invest in Slack. We take you through a brief history of the platform, the key considerations you should make before investing, and the best places to buy Slack shares.
Compare the best Slack trading platforms
If you want to get involved straight away, simply follow one of the links in our comparison table below; this is our selection of the best brokers around. If you would like more information on Slack, keep scrolling down this page.
How to buy Slack stock, a step-by-step guide
This is a simple task, even for an inexperienced investor. We have broken the process down into the easy-to-follow steps you need to take to make an investment.
- Choose a broker. In order to invest, you need to use an online brokerage platform. There are many different options to choose from, each with its own unique benefits and drawbacks. The comparison table above can help you select the right broker for you, and you can head to our comprehensive broker reviews if you’re still unsure.
- Create an account. Once you’ve selected your broker, simply go to their website and create an account. The steps required for this will vary from platform to platform, but generally, you can expect to have to provide your name, email address, phone number, and some form of photo identification.
- Deposit funds. Log into your broker account and select the option to deposit funds. Depending on your broker you’ll have a variety of payment options available; most brokers accept bank transfers and debit card payments, but not all accept e-wallets such as PayPal. Select your preferred payment method and deposit the amount of money you wish to invest in Slack shares.
- Place an order for WORK stock. Now navigate to the stocks section on the interface of your chosen broker. Here, you can search for Slack’s ticker symbol (WORK) and see the current price at which the stock is trading. If you’re happy with the price, enter the number of shares you wish to purchase and place your order.
- Execute your order. Once you have placed your order, your broker will automatically execute it for you and your Slack shares will be listed in your account. Congratulations, you’ve just bought shares in Slack!
What is Slack? And should I invest?
Slack is what’s called a proprietary business communication platform. In simpler terms, it is like Whatsapp for businesses. The platform enables SMEs and large corporations to organise employees into chat channels so they can direct message or call each other, transfer files and even send emojis. For many enterprises, it has effectively replaced email.
Having been developed by American tech firm, Slack Technologies, Slack launched in 2013 and is headquartered in San Fransisco, California. In recent years – especially since COVID-19 increased the number of individuals working from home – the platform has become one of the most popular professional applications.
The revenue model of Slack is based on 3 different premium subscriptions (though there are free versions available), and organisations often choose to pay for all of their employees to access Slack. As a growth stock, the company’s revenue has increased quickly compared to rival platforms like Microsoft Teams and Google Chat, and some feel it is only the beginning for this tech stock.
How has the company performed in recent years?
Its revenue has increased every year from $12 million in 2014 to $630 million in 2020, and between 2014 and 2019, its daily users increased from 400,000 to 12 million, with most of them being paid members. During this period, the platform experienced some controversy when in 2015, it was hacked, leading to the introduction of two-factor verification.
Slack went public in June 2019 via a direct public offering (similar to an IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. Though it was initially valued at over $20 billion, the share price and valuation of the company fell and performed unimpressively for several years. This was partly influenced by falling profits – down from $138 million in 2019 to $91 million in 2020 – as the growth stock chased revenue with increased spending.
However, in November 2020, cloud-based software company Salesforce (CRM) signed an agreement to acquire Slack for $27.7 billion in cash and company stock. This prompted a significant rise in Slack’s share price, though it has flatlined since then.
Is it a good time to buy Slack shares now?
As we appear to be nearing the end of COVID-induced lockdowns, some have speculated that Slack usage will decline as employees head back to the office. If a significant number of businesses or individuals stop using Slack, revenue will be affected, and its share price will likely fall.
However, some feel that companies and employees have learnt a lot about the work-home dynamic during this period, and the tradition of going to work every day could be coming to an end. It has been argued that working from home reduces office overheads, saves commuting money for workers, and may also increase their job satisfaction while minimally affecting efficiencies. If this really is the new normal, Slack could increase in value.
Slack’s revenue growth is significant compared to its rivals, but it needs to start turning this into profits if it wants to sustainably grow. Driven by Slackforce, it could have a bright future if it can deliver in this regard. Make sure you stay up to date with the latest development surrounding Slack by reading our analysis:
Slack stock price explodes 37% on Salesforce talks
Slack stock price crashes 15% after disappointing growth numbers
Slack Stock Price On A Roller Coaster Ride Amid IBM Rumours
Buying, selling and trading shares for beginners
What to do before buying shares
You should always take the time to research a stock fully before investing your money, especially if you haven’t bought shares before. The more knowledge you have, the better your chances of making a wise investment.
With that in mind, here’s a checklist to run through before investing in Slack shares.
- Research the company. You should always examine the fundamentals of a company before investing. What is Slack? How did the company get its start? How did it grow? Is Slack’s revenue and profit growth picking up? Is the company innovating? The more you know about Slack, the better positioned you’ll be to make smart investment decisions.
- Make sure you understand the basics of stock investing. Before you start investing in the stock market, make sure you have an understanding of how it works. This will ensure that you have more clearly defined goals and have thought through how you will achieve them.
- Decide between share dealing and CFD trading. Choose the type of investment strategy you want to pursue, and make sure you have carried out the necessary fundamental or technical analysis for share dealing and CFD trading respectively.
- Set the size of your budget. The golden rule of investing is never to risk more than you can afford to lose. Not every investment you make will result in a profit, so it is important to set a budget that not only allows good potential for capital growth, but also protects against overly damaging losses.
- Find the right broker. Individual brokers each have their own pros and cons. Some will have low fees but have a user interface you struggle to understand, whereas others may be a bit more expensive but come with a range of features that you want to take advantage of. Use our broker reviews to find the right platform for you.
- Examine broader market conditions. No stock exists in a vacuum, and it’s always important to analyse the general trends of the stock market as a whole before investing. If a bear market is setting in and stock prices are falling, it’s best to wait it out and invest your money later when the stock is cheaper. While if the market is looking bullish, you’ll want to make your investment quickly to get the maximum benefit from rising stock prices. Follow the news to stay on top of the financial markets.
What is the difference between buying, selling, and trading shares?
If you’re new to stock investing, then it’s important to understand the basics of how to buy, sell, and trade Slack shares. Here’s a quick run-through of what’s involved in each.
Buying Slack
This process involves finding a broker and placing an order for Slack stock, as outlined in the steps further up this page. Ideally, you want to time your investment when the stock’s price is low so that you can profit by selling the shares after they increase in value.
Selling Slack
When you sell any Slack shares you have bought, you’ll want to do so at a higher price than the one at which you bought to earn a profit.
When you sell is up to you. You might decide to hold for a long period of time, hoping to benefit from the company growing steadily throughout. Or, if you see that Slack’s stock is already up a lot compared to the price you bought it and you’ve noticed that the stock market is starting to fall, it might make sense to sell and take your profits to invest elsewhere. Equally, if the stock has fallen since you bought it and looks set to fall further, it might be a good idea to cut your losses by selling your shares.
Trading Slack
Trading is the same process as buying and selling shares, it’s just done over shorter periods of time with the aim to make small profits on a regular basis. This means that you can make money faster and spend your profits in your day-to-day life – however, on the other side it means you can lose money faster as well. For inexperienced investors, we generally recommend making investments for at least 6 months to a year instead of making trades in quick succession.
You can trade Slack shares directly or trade with CFDs. These allow investors to speculate on stock prices and trade with leverage in pursuit of bigger gains. CFDs trading is explained further in the next section, but it is worth noting that beginners should avoid trading with leverage. It comes with large risks and is best left to experienced investors.
Share dealing vs CFD trading
When it comes to investing in any stock, the two options you have are share dealing and trading. Which one of these methods to opt for largely depends on your investment timeline, with investors thinking long term tending to go for share dealing, and those looking for short term gains pursuing a more aggressive trading strategy.
Here’s a quick summary of the two approaches, and the pros and cons of each.
Share dealing
Share dealing refers to the practice of holding shares in a particular company over the long term. When investing like this, you’re seeking to profit either from dividend payments or an increase in the stock’s price over time.
When investing your money this way, it is important to do a thorough fundamental analysis of the company in which you are investing. You want to put your money in a stock you believe will trend upwards over time, even if there is some market volatility along the way, rather than get distracted by shorter-term peaks and troughs.
Pros
- Can build wealth over time to achieve financial goals
- Don’t need to be very reactive to short-term market movements
- Some stocks will give you an income through regular dividend payments
Cons
- Takes a long time to realise any profits
- Your capital is tied up in stocks and cannot be used for other investments
CFD Trading
If your aim is to generate profits in the short term, then you might be better off trading shares than holding them in your portfolio. Stock trades like this are executed using CFDs (contracts for difference), which allow investors to trade against the value of a stock without having to take ownership of it. When CFD trading, investors are looking to buy and sell stocks fast to profit from short-term fluctuations in value.
One aspect of CFD trading that many investors find attractive is that they allow you to trade with leverage. This means you can place large trades while only putting up a fraction of the value yourself – for instance, if a platform offered leverage of 1:10, you could put £10 into WORK shares and be able to trade £100 worth. This can maximise profits if the market moves in your favour, but be careful as it can also lead to heavy losses.
When trading using CFDs, it is key to be skilled at technical analysis and reading stock price charts. As you’re trading stocks quickly and frequently, the fundamental strength of the company in which you’re investing isn’t as important as being able to predict how its stock price will rise and fall minute-by-minute.
Pros
- Can generate fast profits if you read the market right
- Some platforms allow you to trade with leverage
- Prevents your capital being tied up so you can take advantage of investment opportunities
Cons
- Trading with leverage is risky and can lead to big losses
- Doesn’t necessarily generate growth over the long term
Consider which approach suits you best and craft an investment strategy that works for you. If you need more information, use our trading course and read our guide to CFD trading to get you up to speed.
If neither of these options appeal to you, then you can find a variety of other ways to invest in WORK stock on this page. If, however, you’re ready to get started now, simply select one of the brokers in the table above.
How to choose a broker
With the wide variety of online brokers available these days, it can be hard to figure out which is the best service to go with. Our comparison table and in-depth reviews can help you cut through the noise, but by and large these are the aspects you should be considering when selecting a broker:
- Range of stocks available. The most important thing is that you can actually use the broker to obtain the shares you’re looking for. Some brokers offer more stocks than others, and many will allow you to trade other assets, such as cryptocurrency and commodities.
- Fees and commissions. You want to keep as large a chunk of your profits as you can, so it’s important to make sure your broker doesn’t charge high fees that can eat into your profits.
- Regulation. You should only use regulated brokers to invest. Unregulated brokers can be risky and offer little to no protection if the business were to fail while you had funds in your account.
- Payment methods available. You might want to use a specific payment method, such as PayPal. Not all brokers accept every payment method, but by using our comparisons, you can search for the brokers that support the option you’re looking for.
- Reputation. One of the strongest indicators of a broker’s reliability is the reputation it has with the customers who have used it. Brokers are online businesses, and as such many user experiences can be found online. You can check these out in addition to our reviews to make sure you choose the right platform.
- Customer service. As you’re going to be investing your money using the platform, you want to check that the broker offers good customer service in case you have a query or something goes wrong.
Latest Slack news
Salesforce in talks to buy Slack: What you need to know about this potential tech deal
Slack tops analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue in the second quarter
Slack trades 20% down in the stock market following dovish forecast for the fiscal first quarter
Slack Technologies records better than expected revenue in the fiscal third quarter
WeWork IPO valuation could be cut by half
WeWork IPO: Group could kick off roadshow next week
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