what is the difference between preferred and common shareholders 
the main difference between preferred and common shareholders is that the former typically has no voting rights while the latter does however preferred shareholders have a priority claim to income meaning that they are paid dividends before common shareholders common shareholders are last in line regarding company assets which means that they will be paid out after creditors bondholders and preferred shareholders the bottom lineshareholders or stockholders are the owners of a corporation shareholders can receive profits in the share of dividends or sell their shares in the market for a profit they can also participate in corporate elections anyone can become a shareholder by buying stock in that company in many countries corporations may also offer employee stock options as a benefit for workers shareholders assume a level of risk if a company goes bankrupt common shareholders are last in line for repayment in some cases this means that shareholders can lose their entire investment 