Issued stock definition

What is Issued Stock?

Issued stock is the shares of a company that have been distributed to investors. These are all of the shares representing the total ownership interest in a business. Issued stock includes shares that have been sold, given to employees or third parties as compensation or payment (respectively), donated, or issued in settlement of a debt - in short, every possible share that has been distributed. This includes shares held both by corporate outsiders and insiders. The amount of issued stock may be reported in a company's financial statements.

If a company reacquires stock and retires it, these shares are no longer considered to be issued.

Issued Stock vs. Authorized Stock

Issued stock varies from authorized stock, in that authorized stock has only been approved for issuance by the board of directors, while issued stock has actually been distributed. In rare cases, the amount of issued stock will exactly match the amount of authorized stock; when this happens, the board of directors should request that shareholders approve an increase in the amount of authorized stock. Doing so gives the organization room to issue more stock via acquisitions, stock sales, stock option conversions, and so forth.

Terms Similar to Issued Stock

Issued stock is also called issued shares.

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