Why Do Companies Issue Stock?

Public Companies throughout the world issue new stock shares every day. But what is stock, and why does a company issue it?

To help you to better understand these important investment and stock trading concepts and strategies in this tutorial we will discuss:

  • What is Capital?
  • Equity vs. Debt
  • Why Do Corporations Issue Stock?
  • Advantages for Stock Holders
  • How Stock Trading Works

Let us begin by defining the word capital.

What Is Capital?

Benjamin Graham’s classic, The Intelligent Investor, offers no guarantees or gimmicks but overflows with the wisdom at the core of all good portfolio management. The Intelligent Investor is a book for true investors, not speculators or day traders. He provides, “in a form suitable for the laymen, guidance in adoption and execution of an investment policy”. (read more)

Let’s imagine that you decide to start-up your own ice cream shop business. You will need to invest in equipment, food supplies and property. All the money that you invest to start your business is called capital. Essentially, the capital of a business consists of all of its assets (or items to assist in the creation of wealth).

What if it dawns on you that you don’t have enough cash to buy all the needed assets? Let’s see how new businesses and companies deal with this problem.

Equity vs. Debt

To start a new business (or fund a new project) a company can raise money in two ways – by selling shares of equity or by incurring debt. If the owner of our ice cream parlor invested all their own savings to buy the materials necessary to start the business, they made an equity investment in the company.

See also  Unlock Your Confidence in Stock Trading: A Strategic Guide

Equity is simply ownership of a corporation. Typically, ownership units in a corporation are referred to as stock. However, if our owner did not have necessary funds to start their own business they could finance their operation in one of two ways:

  1. Issue stock (or certificates of partial ownership in his company) to people who may be interested in helping their venture out in return for a proportional share of the profits that the company might generate.
  2. Borrow money that will need to be paid back with interest. So, what are the advantages of selling stock?

Why Do Corporations Issue Stock?

Businesses issue stock to raise capital. It’s as simple as that.

Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of issuing stock .

Advantages of issuing stock:

  1. A Company can raise more capital than it could borrow.
  2. A Company does not have to make periodic interest payments to creditors.
  3. A Company does not have to make principal payments.

Disadvantages of Issuing Stock:

  1. The principal owners have to share their ownership with other shareholders.
  2. Shareholders have a voice in policies that affect the company operations.
  3. A Company must prepare and release specific legal and financial documents.

Advantages for Stockholders

As part owner of a corporation, you may be entitled to share in the profits of the company. There is also a chance that the company will grow and the price of the stock may rise. If the company achieves economic success, the stock value will go up and stockholders will benefit.

For example, if you invested $1,000 to buy 100 shares of a company at $10 each and the shares rose to $13 each you would gain $300. This is equivalent to a 30% return. In cases like this, both the stockholders and the business would be pleased.

See also  Unraveling Stock Brokerage Fees: What You Need to Know

How Stock Trading Works

Ready for the next step towards stock market investing? Make sure to read on and learn how stock trading works in todays public market. If you are interested in taking a company public, it’s recommended to incorporate in Nevada to get started.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Jason
Jason
12 years ago

I’m catching onto how shares work and it appears there are physical stock, and virtual stock certificates where the corps don’t physically have the inventory. Is it best to back the shares by physical stock, like in redeemable certificates as the Silver/Gold Certificate?