what is a joint stock company 
a joint stock company is a business owned by its investors with each investor owning a share of the company based on the amount that they ve invested it is a predecessor to the modern day corporation and other types of registered companies in the u s joint stock companies were created to finance endeavors that were too expensive for an individual or even a government to fund the owners of a joint stock company expected to share in its profits today u s companies are not organized as joint stock companies while one could describe a business with shareholders using the term joint stock company there is no such registration option instead businesses are organized as for example a corporation a partnership or a limited liability company llc 