authorized shares

authorized shares definition - finance
The number of stock shares that a company may issue as authorized by its articles of incorporation or by its shareholders. Often, a company does not issue all of its authorized stock shares. If a company has issued all its authorized shares and wants to issue more shares, it usually has to obtain permission from the board of directors and/or the shareholders.

Webster's New World Finance and Investment Dictionary Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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