In stock-market finance, the primary market is where newly issued securities are sold.
A company or other issuer raises capital in this market by offering new shares or other securities to investors. An initial public offering, or IPO, is one example: a private company sells shares to the public for the first time, and the proceeds go to the issuing company, subject to the offering structure and fees.
The primary market also includes later offerings by companies that are already publicly traded. These may be called follow-on offerings or seasoned offerings. Governments and other organizations can issue securities in the primary market as well.
After issuance, investors can trade those securities with one another in the secondary market. Those later transactions usually do not send the purchase money directly to the issuer. Confusing the two markets can make it harder to understand who receives the proceeds from a securities sale.