Those who provide the risk capital for a corporate venture are given stock, representing their ownership interest in the enterprise. The holder of stock has certain rights that are defined by the charter and bylaws of the corporation as well as by the laws of the country or state in which it is chartered. Typically these include the right to share in dividends and other distributions, to vote for directors and fundamental corporate changes, and to inspect the books of the corporation, and, less frequently, the âpre-emptive rightâ to subscribe to any new issue of stock. The stockholderâs interest is divided into units of participation, called shares.
A stock certificate ordinarily is given as documentary evidence of share ownership. Originally this was its primary function; but as interest in securities grew and the capital market evolved, the role of the certificate gradually changed until it became, as it is now, an important instrument for the transfer of title. In some European countries the stock certificate is commonly held in bearer form and is negotiable without endorsement. To avoid loss, the certificates are likely to be entrusted to commercial banks or a clearing agency that is able to handle much of the transfer function through offsetting transactions and bookkeeping entries. In the United States, certificates usually are registered in the name of the owner or in a âstreet nameââthe name of the ownerâs broker or bank; the bank may for legal reasons use the name of another person, known as a ânominee.â When a certificate is held in the name of a broker or bank nominee, the institution is able to make delivery more readily and the transfer process is facilitated. Investors, for legal or personal reasons, may prefer to keep the certificates in their own names.
A corporation may endow different kinds or classes of stock with different rights. Preferred stock has priority with respect to dividends and, if the corporation is dissolved, to the division of assets. Dividends on preferred stock usually are paid at a fixed rate and are often cumulated in the event the corporation finds it necessary to omit a distribution. In the latter circumstance the full deficiency must be cleared before payments may be made on the common shares. Participating preferred stock, in addition to stipulated dividends, receives a share of whatever earnings are paid to the common stock. Participation is usually resorted to as an inducement to investors when the corporation is financially weak. Although a preferred issue has no maturity date, it may be given redemption terms much like those of a bond, including a conversion privilege and a sinking fund. Preferred stockholders may or may not be allowed to vote equally with common stockholders on some or all propositions or more characteristically may vote only upon the occurrence of some prescribed condition, such as the default of a specified number of dividend payments.
Common stock, in some countries called ordinary shares, represents a residual interest in the earnings and assets of a corporation. Whereas distributions to bonds or preferred stock are ordinarily fixed, dividends paid on common stock are set at the time of payment by the directors and tend to vary with earnings. The market price of common stock is likely to move in a relatively wide range, depending on investorsâ expectations of earnings in the future.
An option contract is an agreement enabling the holder to buy a security at a fixed price for a limited period of time. One form of option contract is the stock purchase warrant, which entitles the owner to buy shares of common stock at designated prices and according to a prescribed ratio. Warrants are often used to enhance the salability of a senior security, and sometimes as part of the compensation paid to bankers who market new issues.
Another use of the option contract is the employee stock option. This is used to compensate key executives and other employees; it is normally subject to a variety of restrictions and is generally nontransferrable. Stock rights, like warrants, are transferrable privileges permitting stockholders to buy another security or a portion thereof at a specified price for an indicated period of time. The stock right allows stockholders to subscribe to additional shares of stock in proportion to their present holdings. Stock rights usually have a shorter life-span than warrants, and their subscription price is below, rather than above, the market price of the common stock.
