The company will make a record of current shareholders whose stocks will be split. Current investors will receive their additional shares after the closing bell on August 28, and shares will begin trading at the new, split-adjusted price on August 31. Here's what current and potential investors need to know. To buy before or after the split? The four-for-one stock split will not change the value of any investor's total holding of Apple, it will just grow the number of shares making up that pot. So, if a potential investor has a set amount of money they want to invest in the company, it wouldn't necessarily matter if they bought before or after the split. Here's an example: Assuming share prices don't move dramatically during the several-day split process, if an investor owns two Apple shares at $500 each before the split (a $1,000 total holding), after the split they will own eight Apple shares at $125 each (still a $1,000 total holding).