Is investing in stocks really only making money out of the value of a stock? And not really different than investing in gold, crypto, etc?

Hello,

I am new to the investing world, and I am learning a lot.
I am finding myself asking questions about some forms of "investment", that I really only see as "speculation" really (that is, buying something only for selling it later on at an higher price).

In my head, "investing" is about putting money in an asset which have good possibilities to grow, and make a profit out of it. This seems quite the case for the stock market if you aim at buying stocks that give dividends. But not all companies pay dividends on their stocks. In that case, I am buying stocks "only" to sell them later on at an higher price. So that's to me is "betting" on the stock price to raise.
That seems to me not different from "investing" in gold or oil, or crypto, or in any asset that can have some "value" changing over time, and that can be paid off at a certain moment.
Also, the money I am getting when I want to "cash out" are always from the market (i.e., other investors, small or big, but almost never from the company - buy backs are exception in this scenario).
Sometimes it seems to me like a Ponzi scheme, I can't really say why.

So, my question is: am I seeing it right? Is investing in stocks, most of the time, just buying some assets with the hope they will increase in value? And with the hope there will be some other investor willing to give me money for me to "cash out"?

(I know that one can buy commodities or stocks, or even currencies, and consider them an asset, and "do things" with them, but in practice it's very difficult to pay in stocks, and one must always get back to a common ground - currency - to make everyday's life transactions - buying bread, putting gas in your car, ...).

Thanks for the help.