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Glite Dictionary
authorized shares

authorized shares

7.0
The number of shares a company can legally issue
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : acciones autorizadas
  • But only if the AMC board proposes and then investors vote to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock.

Examples

  • The company decided to increase the number of authorized shares after a successful year of growth.

  • This, after the best year the company and its stock have had since inception, includes a reduction of authorized shares, a reduction of outstanding shares, a reduction of debt and liabilities, with an increase in project flow, an increase in revenues, and an increase in overall shareholder value.

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  • Investors were pleased to see the increase in authorized shares as it indicated management's confidence in future projects.

  • Before launching new initiatives, the firm had to ensure it had enough authorized shares available for issuance.

Synonyms

capital stock
vsauthorized shares
  • Specialized
1 5.9

The total number or value of a company's shares that it can issue to owners

is a stricter legal term naming the numeric limit set in incorporation papers
authorized stock
vsauthorized shares
  • Specialized
6.8

The maximum number of shares a company can legally issue

is the same meaning but uses the alternative common term for ownership units

Surface Forms

authorized shares singular
authorized shares plural
authorized share singular

Morphology

authorized + share

A B1 learner who knows 'authorized' (permitted) and 'share' (unit of company ownership) can reasonably infer that 'authorized shares' are shares that a company is allowed to have or issue. However, the precise legal nuance — that it refers to the maximum number permitted by the articles of incorporation — is a specialized, domain-specific detail not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Authorized shares comes from company papers that 'authorize' a fixed number of shares, like a permission slip that says how many parts of the company may be created. So, it now means the maximum number of shares a company is legally 'allowed' to create.