Which type of stock split results in three shares being equivalent to the original value of two shares held?

In a stock split, the number of shares outstanding increases while the overall value of the shares remains the same, as the value is proportionally adjusted. A 3-for-2 stock split means that for every two shares an investor holds, they will receive an additional share, resulting in a total of three shares.

In this case, if an investor originally holds two shares, after the 3-for-2 split, they will have three shares. The value of these three shares remains equivalent to the original value of the two shares because the stock price is adjusted downward in proportion to the increase in the number of shares. For instance, if two shares were valued at $100 total, in a 3-for-2 split, the new share count increases to three, but the price of each share would be adjusted to approximately $66.67 so that the total market capitalization remains $100.

This relationship holds true specifically for the 3-for-2 split, making it the correct answer. The other types of splits either increase or decrease the total number of shares in ways that do not maintain this particular equivalence between the original and post-split values.