capital stock

Capital Stock

The common and preferred stock a company is authorized to issue, according to their corporate charter.

Notes:

Capital stock are normally listed on a company's balance sheet.

In financial statement analysis, an increasing capital stock account tends to be a sign of economic health since the company can use the additional proceeds to invest in projects or machinery that will increase corporate profits and/or efficiency.

See also: Balance Sheet, Common Stock, Preferred Stock

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Capital stock

Stock authorized by a firm's charter and having par value, stated value, or no par value. The number and the value of issued shares are usually shown, together with the number of shares authorized, in the capital accounts section of the balance sheet. See: Common stock.

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capital stock

Any of various shares of ownership in a business. These shares include common stock of various classes and any preferred stock that is outstanding. If a firm has only a single class of capital stock outstanding, the terms common stock and capital stock are often used interchangeably. See also authorized capital stock, outstanding capital stock, stock class.