what does it mean to be a public limited company plc 
a plc is a publicly traded company in the u k these companies must have plc or the words public limited company after their name for example the oil and gas company bp plc is a u k publicly traded company that s headquartered in london england who is a public limited company owned by like publicly traded companies headquartered in the u s plcs are owned by shareholders these companies are traded on exchanges where shares can be openly bought or sold by individuals companies and mutual funds this listing contrasts with the limited ltd listing which does not trade publicly and has limitations on shares and shareholders 