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Rockstar Games is known for making its in-game world as realistic as possible. One unique real-life-like aspect of Grand Theft Auto 5 is the option to invest in different shares and sell them for a profit. Of course, jumping into the stock market blindly will end up with you losing a lot of money. So just like in real life, it’s important to understand how the stock market works and get drowned in dollars. Instead of constantly checking the stock market, simply follow our GTA 5 guide and wait for the best moment to buy and sell.
Do note that buying stocks is best done after you’ve completed the final “The Big Score” heist. You’ll have tons of money that you can spare for investing in shares.
[Updated on June 17th – Added 4 new methods and more details]
1. eCola is The Best Stock to Buy for GTA 5 Early Game
When you first boot up GTA 5 story mode, eCola (ECL)’s stock price is the cheapest one you can get at around $3-6 per share. However, as you play through the story, it can reach $125-140 per share. This makes eCola a great choice if you try your hands on the stock selling system.
The best way to get money for the stocks as Michael is by robbing Armored Trucks; they often hang around Little Seoul and Paleto Bay. Try looking for them near Burger Shot or at Ammu-Nations. For Franklin, just drive around town and participate in random races. Meanwhile, Trevor instantly starts with $100,000 you can spend on the shares.
You can also manipulate a company’s stock price by harassing the business. For instance, shoot out any eCola vending machine or trucks that you come across. Wait a day or two of in-game time and see if the shares have dropped below the last time you see it.
Say you have accumulated $100,000 for each character, that means you can buy 20,000 shares if they are at $5 each. Once it eventually reaches $125, you’ll gain a $2,500,000 income after you sell the shares!
2. Buy Tinkle Shares Before You Ran Into This Random Event
There are many Random Events in GTA 5, but only one will affect how you manipulate the stock market. Said event is the “Hitch Lift 1” Random Event, where you meet a businessman with a broken-down car on the Great Ocean Highway in Chumash. Pick him up and he’ll ask you to take him to the airport in 5 minutes. If you manage to arrive in time, the businessman will tell you to invest in Tinkle (TNK) stock on BAWSAQ. Lo and behold; the share price increases once the event’s over.
Of course, predicting such happenstance can be tricky. But if you’ve never encountered the Random Event before, there’s a trick to spawn it:
- Invest all the money of all characters in Tinkle (TNK).
- Wait until Monday. Trevor can sleep for 12 hours to help past the time if needed.
- Drive to Chumash, to the fork in the road on Ineseno Road, Banham Canyon. All three characters can meet him but try using Michael for a higher chance of him spawning.
- Pick the businessman up and drive him to the airport in less than 5 minutes.
- Spend 18-24 in-game hours for maximum return, about 33%.
- Sell all of Tinkle’s shares as Franklin, Trevor, and Michael.
3. The Best Stocks to Buy by Exploiting Assassination Missions in GTA 5
Same as real life, a tragic accident to the CEO or a key member of a company will have a direct impact on their share prices. In GTA 5, Lester will give you missions to assassinate the big-wigs of big companies like Debonair Cigarettes or BetaPharmaceutical.
As you can expect, you’ll want to buy a series of certain stocks before completing each Assassination Mission. Then sell them a few minutes after the mission is completed. Afterward, wait 2-3 in-game days and purchase another stock. Wait again for another few days, and sell them. Check the table below for which stocks you should buy before and after an Assassination Mission.
| Mission | Stock to Buy Before Mission | Stock to Buy and Sell After Mission |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel Assassination | BetaPharamaceuticals (BAWSAQ) | Sell Beta After the Mission. Wait 3 days, and buy Bilkington (LCN) stocks. Wait 4-5 days and sell them. |
| The Multi-Target Assassinations | Debonair Cigarettes (LCN) | Sell Debonair stocks after the mission. Immediately purchase Redwood (LCN), wait 2-3 days, and sell Redoowd. |
| The Vice Assassination | Fruit (BAWSAQ) | Sell Fruit stocks after completing the mission. Buy Facade (BAWSAQ) and wait 2-3 days, and then sell. |
| The Bust Assassination | None | Buy Vapid (BAWSAQ) after completing the mission. Wait 2-3 days, and then sell them. |
| The Construction Assassination | GoldCoast (LCN) | Sell GoldCoast after completing the mission. |
Related:
All Cheats for GTA V to Help You Rule Los Santos (Codes, Phone Numbers, and Console Commands)The gain goes up to 80% gain give or take, when it hits that number cash out, failure to do so will result in the stock dropping to 50%. Some people claim to have higher numbers, but it can be risky and 80% is considered a sweet spot in the community.
As a reminder, wait until you’ve finished the story mode and completed all Heists. this way, you’ve accumulated more money and can make more profit.
4. The Best Stocks To Buy That Are Affected by GTA 5 Story Missions
Just like Assassination Missions, some GTA 5 Main Missions also affect the stock market, creating the best way to make a profit. Below is the list of all missions and how much shake-up they will cause to certain companies’ shares.
| Mission | Stock Market Changes |
|---|---|
| Friend Request | LifeInvader (LFI) drops significantly |
| Solomon | Richards Majestic (RIM) crashes |
| The Jewel Store Job | Vangelico (VAG) decreases in value |
| Minor Turbulance | Vangelico (VAG) increases in value by 40% |
| Legal Trouble | FlyUS (FUS) drops by 50% |
| Meltdown | FlyUS (FUS) back to normal |
| Paleto Score | Cluckin’ Bell (CLK) drops significantly |
| The Big Score | Gruppe Sechs (GRU) drops significantly |
| The Time’s Come (B Ending) | Merryweather Security (MER) increases by 200% |
| The Third Way (Deathwish Ending) | Cluckin’ Bell (CLK) increases in value by 60% |
| The Third Way (Deathwish Ending) | Gruppe Sechs (GRU) returns to normal |
| The Third Way (Deathwish Ending) | Augury Insurance (AUG) doubles in value |
| The Third Way (Deathwish Ending) | Merryweather Security (MER) drops by 50% |
5. Opposites Attract: Learn The In-game Companies Competitions To Manipulate Their Shares
As mentioned in our eCola shares section, manually disrupting the stock market can also be the best method to make moolah in GTA 5. Interestingly, one company’s misfortune can be another’s luck; harassing one business and another enterprise will make a profit.
For example, if you shoot eCola’s vending machine and trucks, not only its stock will crash. Its rival, the Raine mineral water company, stock price will go up as well. Now all you need to do is refer to the table below to have a better idea of what stocks you should disrupt and buy. It works both ways too, so you can mess with Taco Bomb if you prefer Cluckin’ Bell.
| Company | Competitor |
|---|---|
| Burgershot (BGR) | Up-n-Atom Burger (UPA) |
| Cluckin’ Bell (CLK) | Taco Bomb (TBO) |
| eCola (ECL) | Raine (RAI) |
| Pisswasser (PIS) | Logger Beer (LOG) |
| Cool Beans (BAN) | Bean Machine (BAN) |
| Redwood Cigarettes (RWC) | Debonaire (DEB) |
| FlyUS (FUS) | Air Emu (EMU) |
| GoPostal (GOP) | Post OP (POP) |
| Maze Bank (MAZ) | Bank of Liberty (BOL) |
| Slaughter, Slaughter & Slaughter (SSS) | Bullhead (BUL) |
| Bilkinton Research (BIL) | Dollar Pills (DOP) |
| Merryweather Security (MER) | Gruppe Sechs (GRU) |
| Radio Los Santos (RLS) | WorldWide FM (WFM) |
Now depending on how much stock you’ve invested, you should be able to make the best profit in GTA 5. The last tip we have for you is to make sure you invest with all three characters. It’s kinda silly to have a single character with millions while the other is broke, right?
GTA 5 is available for PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
