
GME shares outstanding and float are two crucial metrics that investors need to understand to make informed decisions.
The shares outstanding for GameStop, a popular video game retailer, can be found in the company's latest quarterly report, which states that they have 134.2 million shares outstanding as of the end of 2020.
Having a high number of shares outstanding means that there are more shares available for trading, which can lead to increased liquidity and a more stable stock price.
However, the float is significantly lower, with only 34.1 million shares available for trading, as of the end of 2020. This discrepancy highlights the importance of understanding the difference between shares outstanding and float.
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What Is a Stock
A stock represents a claim on a portion of a company's assets and profits, and its value is determined by supply and demand in the market.
Stocks are essentially ownership shares in a company, and when you buy a stock, you're essentially buying a tiny piece of that company.
The total number of outstanding shares in a company is a key factor in determining its stock price and market capitalization.
Stocks can be issued by publicly traded companies, which are required to disclose their financial information to the public, or by private companies, which are not required to disclose their financial information.
The value of a stock can fluctuate constantly due to various market and economic factors.
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Understanding Outstanding Shares
A company's shares outstanding are the total number of shares issued by a company that are actively held by stockholders.
Companies can find the number of outstanding shares on their websites, typically in the investor relations section, or on stock exchange websites.
The number of outstanding shares changes constantly and is used to calculate a company's market capitalization, which is done by multiplying the total shares outstanding by the current price per share.
One way to identify a company's outstanding shares is to look at the shareholders' equity figure on the firm's balance sheet.
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Companies may provide executives with stock options, but these stock benefits are not included in the tally of shares outstanding until shares are fully issued.
Here are the three share-number metrics that investors often look at to get a comprehensive overview of a company's stock shares:
- Authorized shares: the maximum number of shares that a corporation is legally permitted to issue.
- Outstanding shares: the total number of shares issued by a company that are actively held by stockholders.
- Floating stock (or float): the total number of shares that a company has available for the public to trade on the open market.
The number of outstanding shares can impact how liquid a stock is, which in turn often affects the volatility of its price.
Understanding Float
Float refers to the number of issued shares available for trading of a particular stock.
Shares outstanding and float are distinct concepts, even though they both relate to the number of shares a public company has issued.
The float excludes closely held or insider shares, which are owned by corporate management and employees, or large or institutional investors with controlling stakes.
These excluded shares are not available for trading in the open market, unlike the shares that make up a company's float.
A company's float is also known as its float, and it's the number of shares a company has available to trade in the open market.
The float does not include share blocks held by institutional investors or restricted shares owned by the company's officers and insiders.
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Comparing Outstanding and Float
Shares outstanding and float are two distinct metrics that relate to a company's issued shares, but they're not interchangeable. Shares outstanding refers to the total number of shares a company has issued, including those held by stockholders, institutional investors, and corporate insiders.
The number of outstanding shares changes constantly and is used to calculate a company's market capitalization. This is done by multiplying the total shares outstanding by the current price per share.
Float, on the other hand, represents the total number of shares available for the public to trade on the open market. This metric excludes closely-held shares held by company insiders or controlling investors.
Here's a key difference: shares outstanding includes restricted or closely-held shares, while float only counts tradeable shares on the open market.
Float is always a smaller figure than shares outstanding because it only includes shares that are available for investment and trading.
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Key Concepts and Considerations
Shares outstanding is the total number of shares issued and actively held by stockholders. This number includes all shares, whether they're trading freely or held by insiders.
A company's outstanding shares figure in many calculations, such as earnings per share (EPS) and market capitalization. These calculations can help investors understand a company's financial health.
Floating stock, on the other hand, is the result of subtracting closely-held shares from the total shares outstanding. This provides a narrower view of a company's active shares.
If a company's floating stock to outstanding shares percentage is low, it means the company has a lot of closely held shares. These shares are held by one or a few investors and can significantly affect the stock's price and volatility.
Here's a key difference between shares outstanding and float:
A high-float stock is often prized by investors, as it tends to have a low bid-ask spread and lower volatility. However, a sudden increase in float can indicate that company insiders or institutional investors lack confidence in the stock.
It's essential to consider a company's floating stock percentage when analyzing its stock for investment. This figure can help you understand how many shares are actually available to be bought and sold by the general investing public.
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The Bottom Line
As an investor, it's essential to consider a company's outstanding and floating shares when making investment decisions. Outstanding shares highlight the structure of a company's ownership.
You can find this information on financial statements and through stock exchange websites. This includes authorized shares and outstanding share information, which is often provided by companies.
To get a more accurate picture, you can also calculate a company's floating stock by subtracting closely-held shares from the total shares outstanding. This gives you a narrower view of a company's active shares.
The result is called floating stock, and it's used in free float capitalization index calculations. This can be a useful metric to consider when analyzing a company's stock for investment.
Here are some key differences between outstanding and floating shares:
- Outstanding shares: Total number of shares issued and actively held by stockholders.
- Floating stock: Result of subtracting closely-held shares from the total shares outstanding.
It's also worth noting that a company's floating stock percentage can be an important consideration when evaluating its stock for investment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of GME float is shorted?
Approximately 8.7% of GameStop's float is currently shorted. This significant short interest could potentially impact the stock's price movement.
Sources
- https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/062315/what-difference-between-shares-outstanding-and-floating-stock.asp
- https://greenvillejournal.com/business-news/the-motley-fool-float-vs-outstanding-shares/
- https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/report/stocks/quote.aspx
- https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/report/stocks/ownership.aspx
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-going-gamestop-gme-layton-cox-mba
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