Chapter 11: Reporting and Interpreting Stockholders’ Equity * Corporate Ownership * Shares of stock can be purchased in small amounts. * Ownership interests are transferable. * Stockholders are not liable for the corporation’s debts * Common stock – the basic voting stock issued by a corporation to stockholders. * Voting rights * Dividends * Residual claim – if the company ceases operations, stockholders share in any assets remaining after creditors have been paid. * Preemptive Rights – existing stockholders may be given the first chance to buy newly issued stock before it is offered to others. * Equity vs. Debt Financing * Equity financing – issuing new stock to investors * Debt financing – borrowing money from lenders * All transactions between a company and its stockholders affect the company’s balance sheet accounts only. * Common Stock Transactions * Contributed capital – reports the amount of capital the company received from investors’ contributions, in exchange for the company’s stock. * Retained earnings – reports the cumulative amounts of net income earned by the company less the cumulative amount of dividends declared since the corporation was first organized. * Treasury stock – reports shares that were previously owned by stockholders but have been reacquired and are now held by the corporation * Authorization, Issuance, and Repurchase of Stock * Authorized shares – the maximum number of shares of capital stock of a corporation that can be issued, as specified in the charter. * Issued shares – shares of stock that have been distributed by the corporation. * Treasury stock – issued shares that have been reacquired by the company. * Outstanding shares – shares that are currently held by stockholders. *