Major stock exchanges like the NASDAQ and the NYSE are elite clubs - their only want the best companies to trade on their exchanges. A few of the companies that list on NASDAQ include Intel, Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, and Sun Microsystems. The NASDAQ, for example, has three sets of listing requirements. A company must meet at least one of the three requirement sets, as well as the main rules for all companies. These include: a) Each company must have a minimum of 1.1 million publicly-traded shares upon listing. Shares held by officers, directors or any beneficial owners of more then 10% of the company do not count. b) The minimum bid price of the stock upon listing must be at least $5. c) Companies must also have at least 400 shareholders holding at least 100 shares each. For a list of all of the requirements please visit the NASDAQ website.
