what is listed 
a listed company issues shares of its stock for trading on a stock exchange if a company is listed in the u s it has met the requirements of the securities and exchange commission sec for selling shares to the public and has been accepted for trading on an exchange such as the new york stock exchange it is a public company companies that are listed are required to submit quarterly financial statements to the sec and to their shareholders understanding the term listeda listed company is a public company it has issued shares of its stock through an exchange with each share representing a sliver of ownership of the company those shares can then be bought and sold by investors rising or falling in value according to demand a company must apply to an exchange to be listed each exchange sets its own requirements which typically include minimum levels of cash flow and company assets the company also must adhere to the exchange s standards of corporate governance since they are public companies all listed companies are subject to regulation by the securities and exchange commission among other things this means that the company must publish quarterly and annual financial reports 1in order to be listed a company must meet the qualifications set by one of the stock exchanges once a company is listed it must continue to meet those qualifications or risk being delisted benefits of being listedcompanies list on an exchange in order to raise cash the sale of stock on the open market is one way to raise a great deal of money fast in general companies that want to grow and expand have a few ways to raise the money of course individual investors also expect to exert a measure of control over companies whose stock they own ownership of a single share of common stock gives an investor the right to attend a company s annual meeting and vote on the issues raised there listing on a stock exchange gives a company more than access to a piggy bank it can greatly enhance the visibility of the company by drawing the attention of investors and the financial media it also gives a company a way to reward its employees through stock options there are benefits to investors as well the requirements of the exchanges and the regulations of the sec together offer a degree of transparency and accountability in their modern form the exchanges also offer great liquidity and ease of use to stock investors the number of companies listed on the nyse the nasdaq lists about 3 300 initial public offering ipo many ambitious young companies set going public as their first major goal the process toward launching an initial public offering ipo is long and arduous and includes attracting early private investors building refining and testing the product and creating a business plan the company must prepare a package of financial statements to submit to the securities exchange commission for its approval then the company s founders go on the road to sell their plan to institutional investors and the financial media once a company has been accepted for listing on an exchange it can set a share price and a date for its ipo if the ipo is successful the company gets a big wad of cash to invest in its expansion and to reward its founders and early investors once the company is established it can issue new rounds of stock shares from time to time this is usually done to raise money for a specific project it can t be done too often though without objections from existing shareholders who don t want the value of their shares diluted listed vs unlisted companiessome of the biggest brands in america are produced by companies that are privately owned rather than publicly listed some companies bounce back and forth between listed and privately owned status typically as a result of a leveraged buyout by a private equity firm burger king and the jo anne stores chain are examples of companies that have been listed and unlisted some very large companies have never been listed the largest privately owned companies in america include cargill koch industries and the publix supermarket chain 2requirements to be listed on the nasdaq exchangethe nasdaq is a global online stock exchange known for listing some of america s largest technology companies a company can qualify for listing on the nasdaq if it meets the requirements outlined in its 19 page initial listing guide 3 those requirements include the nasdaq also requires companies to meet all of the criteria under at least one of the following standards requirements to be listed on the new york stock exchange nyse the new york stock exchange is the world s largest stock exchange and the oldest in america having been founded in 1792 the nyse requires applicants to meet any one of several financial standards it must meet a set minimum for pre tax income global market capitalization shareholders equity or market value of outstanding shares it also has what it calls distribution standards with minimums set for share price and trading volume among other factors 4questions answers