1. The ownership of a company represented by a
stock that is
traded on the open
market, either on a
stock exchange or on the
over-the-counter market. Individual and institutional
shareholders each have a portion of this public ownership, in proportion to the amount of stock they own as a percentage of all
outstanding stock. Thus, shareholders have final say in all decisions made by the company and its managers, especially through its annual shareholders' meeting. Public ownership allows a company to have greater access to financing than other companies, as they have the ability to issue more stock. However, these companies are subject to greater regulation: for example, they must file
10-K reports with the
SEC on their
earnings, and they are more likely to be subject to
corporate taxes.
2. Ownership of a company by the government. Command economies have a large number of companies under public ownership, but even
free market economies have some degree of government involvement in this form. Many countries have public ownership of one or more companies that produce their main
exports. For example, many oil-rich states have oil companies under partial or total public ownership.