* Authorized Shares – These shares represent the total number of shares of stock authorized when the company was created. However, just because a company authorized a certain number of shares doesn’t mean it must issue all of them to the public. Most companies retain shares for use later called unissued stock or shares.
* Unissued Shares – Shares a company retains in its treasury and not issued to the public or to employees are unissued shares.
Restricted Shares – Restricted shares refer to company stock used for employee incentive and compensation plans. Restricted stockholders need permission of the SEC to sell. There is a waiting period after a company first goes public where insiders’ restricted stock is frozen. When insiders want to sell their stock, they must file a form with the SEC declaring their intention. Even insiders of established companies must file with the SEC before selling their restricted stock.
* Float Shares – Float refers to the number of shares actually available for trade on the open market. You and I can buy these shares.
* Outstanding Shares – Outstanding shares includes all the shares issued by the company, which would be the restricted shares plus the float.If a company repurchases a portion of its shares, these are not considered outstanding.
SYMW #Estimated Market Cap $3,523,457 as of Mar 17, 2010 (previous..5,300,000)
#Outstanding Shares 11,744,855,284 as of Feb 8, 2010 (previous..10,669,855,284)
#Authorized Shares 20,000,000,000 as of Feb 8, 2010
#Float(shares) 6,183,550,883 as of Feb 8, 2010
#Restricted Shares 4,486,304,401 as of Feb 8, 2010 icted shares plus the float.If a company repurchases a portion of its shares, these are not considered outstanding.
Here’s a simple example with numbers to illustrate the relationship of these different shares:
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