unissued capital stock

unissued capital stock

Corporate capital stock that has been authorized but not yet issued. Management of a firm will often ask its stockholders to authorize many more shares of stock than are actually needed in order to provide flexibility for the issuance of more shares later without stockholders' approval.

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unissued capital stock

Stock that a publicly-traded company is authorized to issue but has not. Generally, the company's charter specifies the maximum number shares it is allowed to issue, but shareholders can increase or decrease it according to procedures listed in the charter. There is normally a larger amount of unissued capital stock than is required in order to give a company the greatest amount of flexibility. See also: Authorized shares.