A stock has the following characteristics - "Last" shows at $5.00. Bid is at $4.99 and Ask is at $5.00 (really "Last" just shows at $5.00 - in reality probably $4.995) . If I buy this stock, I'm paying $5.00 per share. If it goes up, 1 penny, Bid is now at $5.00 and Ask is at $5.01. If I sell the stock now at that "Bid", it's at the same price, $5, less commission. Is there any scenario where this plays out at a profit? It seems strange to me that you can't actually realize the 1 cent gain of a stock here. Is it possible to buy a stock at the $4.995 mark - a mix of $4.99 and $5.00 - and then sell it at the $5.005 mark - mix of $5.00 and $5.01?