Shares Issued
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What are Issued Shares?
The term "issued shares" refers to the total number of shares that are issued by a company. This includes all shares held by shareholders as well as those held by the company itself. The number of issued shares can change, for example, through stock splits or stock consolidations.
Difference between Issued and Outstanding Shares
While issued shares encompass the total number of shares that have been issued, outstanding shares refer to the number of shares held by shareholders excluding the company's own shares. In other words:
Shares Issued - Company's Own Shares = Outstanding Shares
Therefore, outstanding shares can never exceed the number of issued shares.
Outstanding shares are often utilized by investors in calculating key ratios to evaluate and analyze a publicly traded company.
Change in the Number of Shares Issued
The number of issued shares is not fixed. If a company requires additional capital, it may issue more shares, thereby increasing the total number of shares. The share count can also be increased by splitting existing shares (stock split), which results in a higher number of shares. Conversely, a stock consolidation (reverse split) is also possible, which reduces the number of issued shares.
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