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I am looking to buy a stock/share of GlaxoSmithKline I can see it being listen on multiple stock exchanges, as far as I understand a stock can be listed on multiple exchanges. However, what I do not understand is what is the difference between the two stocks listed on each one of them?

For example, when I look at London stock exchange for GlaxoSmithKline I can see the price in GBX 1,526.60 which if I convert to pounds is 15.27 in GBP, however when I look up the same stock/share on NSY it is USD 41.00 which is 31.64 in GBP, which means if it is the same stock why is it half the price as on LSE ? Is it really the same stock? If I look up GlaxoSmithKline on https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GSK?s=gsk I can see its price in USD is 41 USD and the stock does pay dividends and etc.

So what is the difference between the two? Is it really the same stock? Why is it twice as cheap?

I am new to this and this really confused me to search for the difference between the two.

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GSK is quoted on the London and New York stock exchanges.

The company’s shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and these are evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), each one of which represents two ordinary shares.

https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/investors/share-price-analysis/

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    Thank you for your answer, however could you explain a bit more about what is mean by this. Sorry I am still confused and it does not make sense to me.
    – vsarunov
    Mar 11, 2020 at 10:02
  • See if this helps.
    – Bob Baerker
    Mar 11, 2020 at 11:46
  • That does make sort of sense now. However, just to be sure if I buy the stock from London stock exchange am I winning something against the New york stock exchange? @BobBaerker
    – vsarunov
    Mar 11, 2020 at 12:37
  • @vsarunov No. On the LSE, each "unit" you buy is one GSK share. On the NYSE, each "unit" you buy represents two GSK shares, and therefore will cost double. One way of "knowing" that you won't be "winning something" in situations like this comes from the old adage "if this was possible, everyone would be doing it"... meaning if there were a "real" difference in price, every financial institution would have bought loads of shares in London and sold for a profit in New York.
    – TripeHound
    Mar 11, 2020 at 13:40
  • @TripeHound That was the answer I was looking for. Thank you. On top of that the resources added extra knowledge for me.
    – vsarunov
    Mar 11, 2020 at 13:49

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