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Glite Dictionary
authorized stock

authorized stock

6.8
The maximum number of shares a company can legally issue
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : capital autorizado
  • The board decided to increase the authorized stock to allow for future expansion.

Examples

  • Only a portion of the authorized stock has been issued to investors so far.

  • The company has authorized stock of two million shares.

  • Changes to the authorized stock must be approved by the shareholders.

  • Did the board approve the authorized stock increase?

  • Changes to the authorized stock must be approved by the shareholders.

  • Only a portion of the authorized stock has been issued to investors so far.

  • The board decided to increase the authorized stock to allow for future expansion.

Synonyms

capital stock
vsauthorized stock
  • Specialized
1 5.9

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

focuses on the legal maximum allowed to be issued rather than ownership total
authorized shares
vsauthorized stock
  • Specialized
7.0

The number of shares a company can legally issue

means the same legally limited amount but uses a different corporate term

Surface Forms

authorized stock singular
authorized stocks plural

Morphology

authorized + stock

The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'authorized' = permitted/allowed and 'stock' = shares, so 'authorized stock' naturally denotes the shares a company is allowed to issue. This compositional reading follows standard legal noun-modifier patterns and has clear equivalents in other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Authorized stock comes from the idea in a company's official papers that authorize or allow a fixed number of stock certificates. Imagine the company has a box of blank share 'tickets' and is told how many it may use, so authorized stock means the maximum number of shares a company is 'allowed by law' to issue.