Shares Outstanding

Definition

The volume of stock shares issued by the company and in the hands of the public. This number entails how much is being traded in the open market. A decreasing shares outstanding over time may be the result of company buybacks. Companies frequently make stock buybacks and retire those buybacks as treasury stock.

Shares outstanding represents a company's market value spread across the amount of shares outstanding. The amount of shares outstanding is frequently used in ratios such as Earnings Per Share.