Definition
Shares authorized, issued and outstanding
Shares authorized, issued and outstanding refer to the total number of shares a company is legally allowed to sell (authorized), has actually sold (issued), and are currently held by outside investors (outstanding).
The term “authorized, issued and outstanding” refers to shares in a company that have been sold publicly.
- They are “authorized” because they fall within the maximum number of shares a company can sell according to its corporate charter.
- They are “issued” because they have been sold.
- They are “outstanding” because they have been sold to the public (not to the owners or managers of the company).