common stock is not just a piece of paper or these days a digital entry but a ticket to ownership in a company when you hold common stock you get to weigh in on corporate decisions by voting for the board of directors and corporate policies over the long term this type of equity can offer attractive returns but remember this comes with a catch if a company has to liquidate its assets common stockholders are at the back of the line getting paid only after bondholders preferred shareholders and other creditors have gotten their share 
the value of common stock issued is reported in the stockholder s equity section of a company s balance sheet common stock explainedcommon stock is primarily a form of ownership in a corporation representing a claim on part of the company s assets and earnings if you re a shareholder this makes part owner but this doesn t mean you own the company s physical assets like chairs or computers those are owned by the corporation itself a distinct legal entity instead as a shareholder you own a residual claim to the company s profits and assets which means you are entitled to what s left after all other obligations are met traded on exchanges common stock can be bought and sold by investors or traders and common stockholders are entitled to dividends when the company s board of directors declares them typically they are paid out of a company s earnings and the decision to distribute them is made by the board taking into account factors like company performance future capital requirements and broader financial goals 1the first ever common stock was issued in 1602 by the dutch east india company and traded on the amsterdam stock exchange 2 over the following four centuries years stock markets have been created worldwide with major exchanges like the london stock exchange and the tokyo stock exchange listing tens of thousands of companies larger u s based stocks are traded on a public exchange such as the new york stock exchange nyse or nasdaq as of mid 2024 the nasadaq had some 3 377 listings but the nyse the largest in the world by market cap 34 smaller companies that can t meet the listing requirements of these major exchanges are considered unlisted and their stocks are traded over the counter 