Share (finance)
A share is a single unit of ownership in a corporation, mutual fund, or any other organization. A joint stock company divides its capital into shares, which are offered for sale to raise capital, termed as issuing shares. Thus, a share is an indivisible unit of capital, expressing the proprietary relationship between the company and the shareholder. The denominated value of a share is its face value: the total capital of a company is divided into a number of shares.
In financial markets, a share is a unit of account for various financial instruments including stocks (ordinary or preferential), and investments in limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. The common feature of all these is equity participation (limited in the case of preference shares).
The income received from shares is known as a dividend. A shareholder, also known as a stockholder, is a person who owns shares of a certain company or organization, and is thus a part-owner of the company. The process of purchasing and selling shares often involves going through a stockbroker as a middle man.
Read more about Share (finance): Valuation, Tax Treatment, Stock Certificates
Famous quotes containing the word share:
“Liberalism—it is well to recall this today—is the supreme form of generosity; it is the right which the majority concedes to minorities and hence it is the noblest cry that has ever resounded in this planet. It announces the determination to share existence with the enemy; more than that, with an enemy which is weak.”
—José Ortega Y Gasset (1883–1955)