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What are Publicly Traded Companies?
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon
Publicly traded companies are companies with shares which can be purchased or sold by any member of the public. This is in contrast with private companies, which do not offer shares on the open market. When companies are established, they are usually private. As they grow, they may opt to hold an initial public offering (IPO) to start selling shares to the public and become publicly traded companies. There are advantages and disadvantages to going public which must be weighed when preparing to sell stock to members of the public.
If a company wants to become a public company, it needs to make a number of financial filings. These filings are intended to protect investors by obliging companies to make their financial information available to the public so that people have that information when they make decisions about which stocks to buy and at what price. This information is released in a document called a prospectus which also provides background information about the company, the products it offers, and the projections for its financial future.
If a company appears sound after the prospectus is reviewed, government regulators allow it to start selling shares on the open market. Many publicly traded companies opt to list with an exchange. While on the exchange, their shares can be bought and sold on the floor of the exchange between members and brokers. The company must continue to file financial disclosures to remain listed on the exchange. Falsification or misstatement of financial information can be grounds for delisting and legal penalties.
Publicly traded companies often make an IPO to raise funds for expansion, investment, and other needs. Once a company goes public, however, it must disclose financial information even if this information could be used against it by competitors. It is also at risk of being taken over if it offers too many shares, allowing people an opportunity to buy a controlling interest. Publicly traded companies are also subject to more financial scrutiny, which may not be to the taste of every company.
It is possible to obtain shares in a private company, but only by consent from the owners. Private companies usually have relatively few shareholders, all of whom hold large interests in the company. For example, a family company would have the family members as shareholders. By contrast, publicly traded companies have numerous shareholders who only hold very small stakes in the company.
Mary McMahon
Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.
Learn more...
Mary McMahon
Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGEEK researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.
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![If a company wants to become a public company, it needs to make a number of financial filings.]()
By: Jasmin MerdanIf a company wants to become a public company, it needs to make a number of financial filings. -
![Publicly-traded companies typically provide information about the company's financial position to shareholders via the company's annual report.]()
By: pandpstock001Publicly-traded companies typically provide information about the company's financial position to shareholders via the company's annual report.
Discussion Comments
@Sinbad - I find out if a company is a publicly traded company by going to a stock symbol look-up website. These sites ask for a company's name, and will then let you know what that company's stock symbol is after you have entered in the company's name.
If a company does not have a stock symbol, it is not a publicly traded company, because a stock symbol denotes that it participates in the exchanges where their shares would be bought and sold.
You can also do an internet search by entering in the terms 'list of publicly traded companies' and some sites have organized a list of all publicly traded companies.
@snickerish - I'm even newer to the game, as I don't even know where to look to find out if a company is a publicly traded company! Any tips?
@snickerish - I don't know too much about stocks just yet, so the idea that trading with companies that have been publicly traded for years might just be safer.
However, I found a list of about 15 of the oldest publicly traded companies, and one of the oldest ones listed had traded all the way up to $50 and down to $30/share just this year (July 2010-July 2011)!
Based on that, I personally think, new or old, you still have to look at more statistics when you are looking at which publicly traded companies you want to invest in.
I looked to see if a new store in my area that has become one of my favorite stores *ever*, was a publicly traded company so I could invest in it, but its website stated it was still a privately owned company.
It's probably for the better, my husband likes to trade in companies that have been publicly traded for years, and that just seems less risky.
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