Nasdaq rules for listing:
Listing Requirements for All Companies Rule 4420
Each company must have a minimum of 1.1 million publicly-traded shares upon listing, excluding those held by officers, directors or any beneficial owners of more then 10% of the company. The minimum bid price of the stock upon listing must be at least $5. Each listing firm is also required to follow Nasdaq Corporate Governance rules 4350, 4351 and 4360. Companies must also have at least 400 shareholders. A shareholder is defined by Nasdaq as a holder of over 100 shares.
Requirement Rule 4420 (a)
The company must have a minimum shareholder equity of $15 million. The operating income from either the last fiscal year, or two of the last three years, must total a minimum of $1 million. The company must have a minimum of three market makers that will provide liquidity to the trading of their stock. The market value of the publicly-held shares upon trading must be worth at least $8 million.
Requirement Rule 4420 (b)
The company must have a minimum shareholder equity of $30 million. The market value of the shares traded must be at least $18 million upon listing. The company also has to have a minimum operating history of two years. It is also required to have three market makers. What can be seen here is that if a company did not earn enough to meet the operating income minimum, they need to have greater shareholder equity and a larger market value.
Requirement Rule 4420 (c)
Under this requirement companies must have at least $75 million in total assets, total revenue, or listed securities. Listed securities as defined by the Nasdaq are securities listed on either a Nasdaq or another national exchange. The market value of the shares upon listing must be worth at least $20 million. They are also required to add an additional market maker for a total of four market makers.
So if a company wants to uplist to the NASDAQ it has three ways to do it. Which way depends on the company and how it is structured and how profitable it is.