Common Shares Outstanding

 

Common share capital can be referred to as venture or risk capital. Common shareholders stand the highest risk of losing all or part of their investment in the event of company being disolved. This position is resulting from the fact that company's creditors, bond holders, and preferred shareholders have prior rights to dividends and assets of the company.

The majority of shares traded on exchanges are common shares. The stock quotes typically refer to common shares, unless a specific label is appended to the stock symbol.

Examples .PRE, .PR, or .P (preferred share), or other classes of common or preferred shares such as .A (Class A Share) or .B (Class B Share).