Issued and Outstanding

Issued and Outstanding - This term refers to the number of shares of common stock a company has that are both issued to shareholders and that are outstanding on the company's books and records. It does not include shares of common stock underlying Options or Warrants that have not yet been exercised. It also does not include shares of common stock that may be owed to others but have not yet been issued. It does include, however, all common stock whether it is in the form of restricted shares or free trading shares without a legend or other restriction.

Companies that are publicly traded and file their financial reports on EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval System) are required to report the number of shares of common stock they have issued and outstanding (I & O). This number appears in their quarterly and annual report and is always less than the number of authorized shares that a company has available and is authorized by state law to issue.

The number of shares I & O should not be confused with the number of shares of common stock in the public float or that are I & O on a fully diluted basis. Those terms can be more or less than 50% of the number of shares that a company states in public filings as I & O.

It is also important to understand that the number of shares that a company has I & O also includes shares that are owned by officers and directors of the company, as well as other affiliates. These numbers are also important for an investor to understand in its analysis of a company because the number of shares a company lists for all these terms mentioned above affects the trading volume and potential dilution of a public company's stock. This in turn can have a negative affect on the company's stock price.

If you need more information here are some additional links You may want to consider.

Investopedia – issued and outstanding

Small Business Dictionary – I & O

InvestorWords – issued shares

Wikipedia – shares outstanding