stock

In finance, stock is the subscribed capital of a corporation or limited-liability company (LLC), usually divided into shares and represented by transferable certificates. The certificates may detail the contractual relationship between the company and its stockholders, or shareholders, and set forth the division of the risk, income, and control of the business.

Because shares of stock represent an ownership stake (i.e. “equity”) in a company, stocks are also referred to as equities, and the stock market is often referred to as the “equities market.”

Many companies have only one class of stock, often called common stock, or ordinary shares. This class of stock carries residual ownership of the company, entitling the holder to unlimited interest in the earnings and assets of the company after limited claims are paid. Common stockholders have the right to control the company through their voting rights, unless such rights are specifically withheld, as in special classes of “nonvoting” shares. The common stockholders’ legal rights may also include preemptive rights to maintain their proportion of equity when new stock is issued. Dividends paid on common stock are often unstable because they tend to vary with earnings; they are also usually less than earnings, the difference being used by management to expand the firm and allow the stockholders’ equity to grow. The market price of common stock is often subject to wide fluctuations, because it depends largely upon investors’ expectations of future earnings.

To appeal to investors who wish to be sure of receiving dividends regularly, many companies issue what is called preferred stock, or preference shares. This class of stock has a prior claim to dividends paid by the company and, usually, to the assets of the company in the event of its dissolution. Dividends are usually set at a fixed annual rate that must be paid before dividends are distributed to the common stockholders. Preferred stock may be participating, meaning that its holders share with common stockholders in any company earnings over and above the stated dividends on the preferred stock. Preferred stock may be cumulative or noncumulative: if cumulative, dividends not paid in one year must be paid in addition to dividends earned in the following year, before any dividend payments are made on the common stock.