Authorized vs Issued vs Outstanding Shares, & Par Value Definitions
What authorized vs issued vs outstanding shares, and par value mean.
Authorized shares are the maximum amount of shares that your charter permits the company to issue. Issued shares are those that are actually granted. Outstanding shares are the issued shares that are currently held by stockholders (issued minus any repurchased/retired). Par value is the nominal per-share value that is set in the charter, mostly relevant for accounting and some state fees (such a Delaware franchise tax). Confusing these is a common source of cap-table errors.
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