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Glite Dictionary
preferred shares

preferred shares

1 5.1
An investment in a company that pays dividends first but usually gives no voting rights
  • noun
  • /prɪˈfɜrd ʃɛrz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : acciones preferentes
  • Third, and most notoriously, the Treasury has invested taxpayer funds in preferred shares of certain institutions.
  • convertible preferred shares
  • buying preferred shares
  • preferred shares of stock

Merkel, along with a lot of hedge funds, traded this spread long the preferred shares and short the ordinaries.

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Examples

  • The CEOs not only handwrote their institution's names but also handwrote multi-billion dollar amounts of "preferred shares" to be issued to the government.

    Blog text (1)

  • The guys who vote have millions of preferred shares, and they vote enormous compensation for themselves.

    Blog text (32)

  • The safer way to get exposure to financial companies is through their preferred shares.

    Blog text (2)

  • The company currently has 56.56 million shares outstanding, excluding about 27 million common stock options and preferred shares.

    Blog text (21)

  • Merkel, along with a lot of hedge funds, traded this spread long the preferred shares and short the ordinaries.

    Patrick Boyle

  • Preferred Shares: Liberty has 12,500,000 shares of preferred stock that convert into 2,586,976,761 common shares.

    Blog text (14)

  • Under the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the Treasury has taken ownership positions in hundreds of large banks by purchasing preferred shares and warrants.

    Blog text (14)

  • We are offering preferred shares to residents of California, of diverse economic backgrounds, who want to become founders and shareholders in People's Community Market and the solution we're creating for the nutritional.

    Blog text (19)

  • Investors often choose to purchase preferred shares because they provide higher dividend payments compared to common stock.

  • If the company faces financial difficulties, holders of preferred shares will be paid before common shareholders.

Synonyms

preferred stock
vspreferred shares
  • Specialized
4 5.5

A share that pays owners dividends before common shareholders but usually has no voting rights

means the same but is named differently in some regions
preference shares
vspreferred shares
  • UK
6.8

An investment that gives a fixed payment before other company investors and usually has no voting rights

may give priority without promising a fixed dividend

Antonyms

ordinary shares
  • UK
5.2

A form of stock giving part of profits and voting rights but no priority for dividends or assets

How Senior

preferred shares
  • Specialized
1 5.1

Surface Forms

preferred shares singular
preferred shares plural
preferred share singular

Morphology

preferred + share

The phrase is compositionally transparent in that 'preferred' modifies 'shares' to signal shares that receive preference, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer these are shares with some priority or special status. However, the precise financial implications (priority for dividends, typical lack of voting rights) are technical and not fully predictable from the words alone, so full understanding requires domain-specific knowledge.

Etymology

Preferred shares are named because some preferred investors are chosen to be 'paid first'. Imagine a special line where people with preferred tickets get money before others but usually cannot 'vote' at company meetings, so the term means shares that get payments before others but often have no voting rights.