Sears Holdings Corp. (fka SHLDQ)

[VelvetJones]

The SEC has statement regarding this very question on their website, under the section covering bankruptcy.

I'm not sure why you find this outcome shocking. It happens on a almost daily basis with small companies, and dozens of large companies have went belly up in the past decade alone. When you buy stock in a company you are becoming a part owner of that company. When that company goes out of business why would you expect to get paid something? If you want guarantees and safety then buy bonds. Low risk, low rate of return. Stocks can increase thousands of percent. High risk, high reward.