Common stock

Common stock is an ownership security that typically gives shareholders voting rights and a residual claim on a company’s assets after creditors and preferred shareholders are paid.

Share (finance): A unit of ownership in a corporation, representing a proportional claim on its assets and earnings. Common stock divides corporate ownership into shares.
Preferred stock: A class of corporate shares that typically has dividend or liquidation priority over common shares. Preferred shareholders generally rank ahead of common shareholders for distributions.
Initial public offering: A company’s first sale of shares to public investors on a securities market. An IPO can turn privately held common stock into publicly traded shares.
Share dilution: A reduction in an existing shareholder’s ownership percentage caused by an increase in shares outstanding. New common-stock issuance can shrink existing holders’ proportional stakes.
Voting right: A legal entitlement to cast a vote on specified decisions, often in proportion to shares held. Common shareholders typically vote on directors and certain major corporate actions.
Corporate bond: A debt security issued by a corporation, obligating it to make specified payments to bondholders. Bondholders are creditors with payment claims ahead of common shareholders.
Follow-on offering: A public company’s later sale of additional securities to investors. Issuing new common shares can raise capital while diluting existing ownership.
Corporate governance: The systems through which a company is directed, monitored, and held accountable. Common shareholders’ voting rights form one mechanism of corporate oversight.
Dividend: A distribution of a company’s earnings or assets to its shareholders. Common shareholders may receive dividends, but the board can reduce or omit them.
Convertible bond: A bond that can be exchanged for a specified number of shares under stated terms. It begins as debt but can become an ownership claim like common stock.

Linked from 8 pages