Common Stock
One way companies choose to raise money (for growth, acquisitions, etc.) is through the sale (issuance) of shares of its stock.[3] Each share of stock represents a fractional ownership in companies, allowing people who purchased them to become (on a small scale) corporate owners, that is, shareholders.
[3] See Appendix for further discussion of the process of stock sale.
Common stock is a fractional unit of equity ownership in companies:
Issued shares of common stock are recorded at their nominal (fractional or par) value:
Example: $0.10/share, $0.50/share.
Par value is not market value of shares (share price).
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