Shareholder – What is a shareholder?

A shareholder is a party that legally owns shares of a company’s stock. They may also be known as a stockholder, subscriber, or member.

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A shareholder can be an individual person, a company or another kind of institution.

Generally, shareholders own part of a company but have very little to do with the day-to-day management. Instead, the company is managed and run by its directors.

Shareholders who own less than 50% of a company’s stock are known as ‘minority shareholders’, whereas shareholders who own 50% or more of a company’s stock are called ‘majority shareholders’.

Shareholders vs. stockholders. vs. stakeholders

Shareholders and stockholders are synonymous – stock is just another word for shares.

However, there’s a big distinction between shareholders and stakeholders. Shareholders must own at least one share of the company’s stock, whereas a stakeholder is any party who has an interest in the company or could be affected by the company's activity.

Shareholders are therefore stakeholders, but stakeholders aren’t necessarily shareholders. Stakeholders also include investors, employees and customers.

How are shares issued?

Most limited companies are ‘limited by shares’ – meaning they’re owned by shareholders. If a company is limited by shares, it should have at least one shareholder. The shareholder can be a director. There’s no limit on how many shareholders a company can have.

When a company is registered, it needs to provide information about shares, including:

Share capital – the total number of shares and their total value (e.g. if a business issues 400 shares each with a value of £2, it has a share capital of £800)
The names and addresses of all shareholders
‘Prescribed particulars’ – the type or ‘class’ of share each shareholder owns, and the rights these shares give them

Shareholders’ rights

When an individual, company, or organisation purchases shares, they’re given certain rights. All stockholders have the right to:

Attend general meetings
Receive a share of the company's profits
Receive a copy of the annual report and certain other accounts
Inspect statutory accounts and financial documents
Receive a share of any surplus funds if the company shuts down

Shareholders’ rights and prescribed particulars

The specific rights shareholders are granted depends on the class of share they own, or 'prescribed particulars'. Different classes of shares impose different restrictions, including:

The share of dividends each shareholder gets
Whether shares can be exchanged for money
Whether the shareholder can vote, and, if so, how many votes they can have
Voting rights in exceptional circumstances

Shareholders’ rights are defined in the company’s articles of association and shareholders’ agreements.

Stockholders and company finances

Because stockholders are the owners of a company, they benefit when the company is successful because their stock increases in value. Alternatively, if the company doesn’t perform well, the price of stock declines and the shareholders can lose money.