What are Issued Shares?

Issued shares refer to the totality of a company's shares that have been issued or allocated to the company's shareholders, this number of shares are recorded in the company's annual report. Issued shares are shares of a company that have been given to shareholders either as a form of compensation or during issuance of shares. Shares held by shareholders which comprises of investors, company insiders, institutional investors and the general public are issued shares. In certain cases, a company can buy back its shares issued to investors and keep as treasury shares. Shares that a company holds in its treasury stock or retired shares are not part of issued shares.

Back To: BUSINESS ENTITIES, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, & OWNERSHIP

What are Outstanding Shares?

The number of shares that a company issues or allocates to its shareholders are recorded as capital stock or owners equity in the company's balance sheet. When calculating market capitalization or when the financial statement of a company is being compiled, issued shares are important. A company's outstanding shares are also recorded under capital in an annual report and listed when doing quarterly filings with the SEC. The holdings or portion of the ownership of a company that shareholders maintain can be determined through the number of shares they hold. All issued and authorized shares of a company are used when calculating the ownership of a company. Issued shares are important when evaluating the ownership of a company, the shareholders of a company maintain a share of the company's ownership. Investors or shareholders who were issued shares through a secondary offering or those that purchased shares when a company starts can claim a portion of the company's ownership. Using the fully diluted calculation or method, a company's ownership can be estimated.

What are Fully-Diluted Shares?

There are multiple options for calculating the total number of outstanding shares. The calculation may include just the issued shares, or it may include all promises or obligations to issue shares. This is known as a Fully-diluted basis for calculating outstanding shares. Fully-diluted calculation of outstanding shares includes common shares, preferred shares, warrants, options, options pool, and any convertible securities (such as convertible debt). Remember, warrants, options, and other convertible instruments will have a conversion ratio that may convert the instrument into any number of common shares. You will use the conversion to common shares ratio to calculate the total, fully-diluted number of common shares. The effect of these different methods greatly affects the ownership percentage calculation.

Related Topics

• Corporate Governance Law (Intro)
• What is Business Governance?
• Berle-Means Thesis 
• Corporate Governance Rating Definition
• Who are the members of a corporation?
• Corporate Charter
• Shareholder Register
• Common Stock
• Preferred Stock
• Par Value
• Authorized Shares
• Issued Shares of Stock
• Unissued Shares of Stock
• Outstanding Shares
• Institutional Shares
• Dual Class Shares
• What is a closely-held corporation?
• Close Corporation Plan Definition
• What is a Private Company vs a Public Company?
• What is the role and purpose of the corporation?
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• Shareholder-Centric Perspective
• Shareholder Value
• What is the Stakeholder theory of corporate governance?
  
• What is the role & rights of Shareholders in the corporation?
  
• Shareholder Democracy Definition
• Quorum Definition
• Information Circular
• Straight and Cumulative Voting
• Statutory (Straight)
  
• Cumulative Voting
• Plurality Voting
• Class Voting Shareholders
• Changing the Voting Rules
• Supermajority (Voting)
• Shareholder Sponsored Proposal 
• What are the variations on attributes of Ownership structure?
• Stock Split
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• When is a shareholder personally liable for corporate obligations?
• Appraisal Rights
• Dissenter's Rights
• Say on Pay Rights
• How can shareholder enforce their rights (direct and derivative actions)?
• Amotion
• What is the process for bringing a Derivative action?
• What are corporate vote Proxies?
• Proxy Statement
• Proxy Fight or Contest Definition & Explanation 
• What is Shareholder Activism and the significance of Institutional Investors?
• Activist Investor
• Overview of Board of Directors
• Board Decision Making
• Advisory Board (Observer Directors)
• What is the role of the Board of Directors?
• Board of Trustees
• Board of Governors
• What is the composition of the board of directors?
• Chairman of the Board
• CEO as Chairman of the Board
• Inside Director
  
• Outside Director
• Outside Director or Non-Executive Director Definition
• Independent Outside Director
• Budget Committee
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• Duty of Care (Board of Directors)
• Duty of Loyalty (Directors) 
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• Board Evaluation Definition
• What is the Business Judgment Rule?
• What is D&O insurance?
• Codetermination (Foreign)
• What is the role of Managers of the corporation?
• What standards govern manager actions?
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• Chief Financial Officer
• Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Chief Investment Officer (CIO)
• Chief Legal Officer
• Chief Operating Officer
• Chief Risk Officer
• Chief Security Officer
• Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
• What are the primary state and federal corporate governance laws?
• What is the role of the state in corporate governance?
• What is the role of Securities Laws in corporate governance?
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• Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX)
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• Corporate Monitors
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• Holding Company
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• Williams Act
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• Poison Pill Defenses?
• Flip Over Poison Pill Definition
• Flip In Poison Pill Definition
  
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• Kamikaze Defense
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