Stock - An instrument that signifies ownership of a corporation, and represents a claim on its proportional share in the corporation's assets and profits.

The number of shares a person owns divided by the total number of shares outstanding determines ownership in the company.

If a company has 100 shares of stock outstanding and a person owns 10 of them, then he/she owns 10% of the company.

Most stock also provides voting rights, which give shareholders a proportional vote in certain corporate decisions. Certain types of companies called corporations only issue stock.

Other types of companies, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships and limited partnerships do not issue stock.

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