Shares outstanding
Also known as: Outstanding shares, Share count
Shares outstanding is the total number of a company's shares currently held by all , institutions, insiders, and the public combined. It is one of the two inputs, along with the share price, used to calculate .
The formula is:
Share price x Shares outstanding = Companies usually report two versions. Basic shares outstanding counts only shares that currently exist. Diluted shares outstanding adds shares that could be created later through , , or convertible securities, and is therefore always equal to or higher than the basic count. Companies report per share figures like on both counts, and the figure is the one most investors focus on, since it accounts for the potential shares that would lower the per share result.
The share count changes during a year as companies issue and buy back shares, so per share figures on the , such as , use the weighted average number of shares outstanding: the average count across the period, with each share weighted by how long it was outstanding. figures use the count on a single date instead, such as the end of the period or the date the was filed.