
How to Calculate Outstanding Shares
- Check the Company’s Balance Sheet Start by checking the company’s balance sheet. The balance sheet is a financial...
- Look at the Preferred Stock Line Item Once you’ve located the company’s balance sheet, find the line item for...
- Look at the Common Stock Line Item Next, you’ll want to look for the common stock line item on the...
How to calculate common stock outstanding from a balance sheet?
You can calculate outstanding shares by:
- Finding the company’s total number of preferred stock, common stock outstanding, and treasury stock.
- Add the number of preferred stock and common stock outstanding, then subtract the number of treasury shares from that total.
- Alternatively, you can calculate the weighted average of outstanding shares.
What does outstanding shares mean in stocks?
- So at any given point in time, outstanding stocks number cannot be higher than the number of authorized shares. ...
- If the company issue all the authorized shares but then need to grant more shares in the future, the company would need to authorize more shares at that point.
- It requires a board and stockholder vote, and then a document to be filed. ...
What is the weighted average of outstanding shares?
Weighted average shares outstanding refers to the number of shares of a company calculated after adjusting for changes in the share capital over a reporting period. The number of weighted average shares outstanding is used in calculating metrics such as Earnings per Share (EPS) on a company's financial statements
How many shares are outstanding?
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How do you calculate shares of common stock outstanding?
The number of stocks outstanding is equal to the number of issued shares minus the number of shares held in the company's treasury. It's also equal to the float (shares available to the public and excludes any restricted shares, or shares held by company officers or insiders) plus any restricted shares.
How many shares of common stock are outstanding?
Shares outstanding is the total number of shares issued and actively held by stockholders. Floating stock is the result of subtracting closely-held shares from the total shares outstanding to provide a narrower view of a company's active shares.
Why is it important to know what common stock is outstanding?
This figure is important because it's used to translate a company's overall performance into per-share metrics, which can make an analysis much easier to do in terms of a stock's market price at a given time.
What is the outstanding stock?
The outstanding stock is equal to the issued stock minus the treasury stock. All companies are required to report their common stock outstanding on their balance sheet. The easiest way to calculate the number is to simply look it up.
What does it mean when you buy stock?
When you buy stock in a company, you are buying a percentage ownership in that business. How much of the business your one share buys depends on the total common stock outstanding, a figure you can easily determine using the company's balance sheet. What common stock outstanding means, and why you should care.
What is the life of common stock?
The life of common stock goes through a few phases, and understanding each step is important for putting the common-stock-outstanding number into proper perspective. First, the board of directors authorizes the company to issue a certain number of shares. That initial figure is appropriately called "authorized" stock.
What happens when a company buys back its own stock?
When a company buys back its own shares, that stock is accounted for as "treasury stock" on the company's balance sheet.
Why are common stocks listed in the equity section?
Common stocks are listed in the equity section because stocks are considered as an asset. From the total number of stocks, we can calculate the number of outstanding stocks. Outstanding stocks are stocks that are issued to the public and owned by stockholders, investors, and company members. If we deduct the number of treasury stocks ...
What is a claim on a company's assets?
The claims on a company’s assets are comprised of liability and equity. Liability includes the claims on the company’s assets by external firms or individuals. Mortgage and loans are examples of liabilities of a company.
What is Treasury stock?
Treasury stocks are stocks that have been repurchased by the company that issued the stocks in the first place. These shares have no voting rights or dividend payments. Neither does this stock receive any assets after the company liquidates. To summarize the formula, Outstanding stocks = Issued stocks – Treasury stocks.
What happens when a company goes public?
When a company goes public from private, it offers an opportunity for investors to claim partial ownership in the company by buying its stocks. This initial offering is known as IPO and this is when the company becomes a publicly owned company.
Is equity a common stock?
Keep in mind that equity is not just comprised of common stocks. It also includes retained earnings, treasury stock, and preferred stocks. When you add up the liabilities and stockholder equity, their sum will always be equal to the total value of the company’s assets.
What is the share outstanding formula?
What is the Shares Outstanding Formula? The term “shares outstanding” of a business refers to the number of authorized shares that are being either held by the promoters of the company or sold to the public shareholders while excluding the number of treasury stocks that have been bought back by the company itself.
How many common stock does a company have in 2018?
According to the balance sheet for the year 2018, the company has 5.0 million authorized common stock and 1.0 million authorized preferred stock, out of which it has issued 3.5 million common stock and 0.7 million preferred stock. During 2018, the company repurchased 0.3 million common stocks and 0.1 million preferred stocks.
What is common stock?
Common stock is the main class of stock that the company issues to investors. It is a security that represents ownership in a corporation. Investors who hold common stock exercise control by being able to vote on corporate policy and electing the company’s board of directors.
What is outstanding stock?
Outstanding stocks are the shares that are actually already out on the market. Read on to learn how to calculate outstanding shares. 1.
What is preferred stock?
Preferred stock is a special class of shares that is generally considered a hybrid instrument, including properties of both a debt and equity instrument. Preferred stocks are higher ranking than common stock, but also subordinate to bonds in terms of claim, or rights to their share of the company’s assets.
Can a company issue new shares?
As we’ve already seen, the number of a company’s outstanding shares can vary over time, sometimes fluctuating a great deal. A company could issue new shares, buy back shares, retire existing shares, or even convert employee options into shares.
Is the number of outstanding shares weighted?
Since the number of outstanding shares is an important component of a number of financial metrics, some analysts prefer to take a weighted average of outstanding shares instead of just capturing the total number of outstanding shares at a given moment in time.
How to find number of stocks outstanding?
The number of stocks outstanding is equal to the number of issued shares minus the number of shares held in the company’s treasury. It’s also equal to the float (shares available to the public and excludes any restricted shares, or shares held by company officers or insiders) plus any restricted shares. For example, if a company issues ...
What is outstanding stock?
In contrast, outstanding stocks are the ones already issued in the market.
Why do companies issue more shares than they issue?
Generally, the company authorizes more shares than the actual issuance size. The key reason for it is efficiency and practicality. If the company issue all the authorized shares but then need to grant more shares in the future, the company would need to authorize more shares at that point.
What is a stock split?
Stock Split Stock split, also known as share split, is the process by which companies divide their existing outstanding shares into multiple shares, such as 3 shares for every 1 owned, 2 shares for every 1 held, and so on.
What is warrant in stock?
Warrants are instruments that give the holder a right to purchase more outstanding stock from the company’s treasury. Whenever warrants are activated, stocks outstanding increase while the number of treasury stocks decreases. For example, suppose XYZ issues 100 warrants.

Shares Outstanding Formula – Example #1
Shares Outstanding Formula – Example #2
- Let us take the example of Walmart Inc.’s financial for the year 2016. The opening number of issued common stock for the year was 3,228 million, while the company repurchased 66 million stock during the year. Based on the given information, Calculate the number of shares outstanding of Walmart Inc. at the end of the year 2016. Solution: Shares Outstanding is calculat…
Shares Outstanding Formula – Example #3
- Let us take the example of Apple Inc.’ to explain slightly different kinds of calculations. During 2016, the company repurchased 279.61 million common stock and issued fresh 37.02 million common stock. Calculate the number of shares outstanding of Apple Inc. at the end of the year 2016 if the opening number of issued common stock for the year was 5,578.75 million. Solution…