ordinary shares
- noun
- /ˈɔrdəˌnɛri ʃɛrz/
- UK
:
acciones ordinarias
- Investors in ordinary shares participate in the company’s profits and can vote at shareholder meetings.
- ordinary shares capital
- ordinary shares to ADRs
Examples
-
As of the time of his order appointing class counsel, there were seven class actions proposing classes of "purchasers of American Depository Receipts ('ADRs') and ordinary shares of BP during various time periods between 2005 and 2010." 230
Academic text (2017) -
Mr. Forrest bought 12.8 million ordinary shares in Fortescue at a value of $62 million.
Blog text (33) -
About three-quarters of International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries use the 10 percent rule to define foreign direct investment in data collection—that is, 10 percent or more of the ordinary shares, voting power, or the equivalent establishes a direct investment relationship.
Academic text (2008) -
When the company declared dividends, all ordinary shares received equal treatment without preference.
-
Many companies offer ordinary shares to their employees as part of their compensation packages.
Synonyms
∞
3.5
A part of a company that people buy and sell
416
3.7
One equal part of a company that you can buy
8
4.0
Shares that give part ownership of a company and usually voting rights
3
3.8
A part of a company you can buy that gives part of the profit and the right to vote
How Privileged
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a regular compositional noun phrase: 'ordinary' (usual, standard) modifies 'shares' (units of company ownership), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the common/standard type of company stock. While legal specifics about voting rights or lack of preferential dividends are technical, the core meaning 'the usual/common kind of shares' is directly derivable and mirrors equivalents in many languages, making it transparent.
Etymology
Ordinary shares comes from calling the regular type of company shares 'ordinary' because they are the normal, common kind rather than the special shares that get extra payments. That's why ordinary shares are the basic shares that give you part of the profits and the right 'to vote', but not the extra rights of the special shares.