In financial markets, stock is the capital raised by a corporation or joint-stock company through the issuance and distribution of shares. A person or organization that holds at least a partial share of stock is called a shareholder. The aggregate value of a corporation's issued shares is its market capitalization. In the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia, the terms stock and share(s) are used the same way, but stock can also refer to completely different financial instruments such as government bonds or, less commonly, to all kinds of marketable securities. In the plural, stocks is often used as a synonym for shares especially in the United States, but it is less commonly used that way outside of North America.

Types of stock

Common stock - also referred to as common or ordinary shares, are, as the name implies, the most usual and commonly held form of stock in a corporation. The other type of shares that the public can hold in a corporation is known as preferred stock. Common stock that has been re-purchased by the corporation is known as treasury stock and is available for a variety of corporate uses.

Common stock typically has voting rights in corporate decision matters, though perhaps different rights from preferred stock. In order of priority in a liquidation of a corporation, the owners of common stock are near the last. Dividends paid to the stockholders must be paid to preferred shares before being paid to common stock shareholders.

Preferred stock -  sometimes called preferred shares, have priority over common stock in the distribution of dividends and assets. Most preferred shares provide no voting rights in corporate decision matters. However, some preferred shares have special voting rights to approve certain extraordinary events (such as the issuance of new shares, or the approval of the acquisition of the company), or to elect directors.

Dual class stock - shares issued for a single company with varying classes indicating different rights on voting and dividend payments. Each kind of shares has its own class of shareholders entitling different rights.

Treasury stock are shares that have been bought back from public. Treasury Stock is considered issued, but not outstanding.

Golden share is a special share giving its holder a right to veto the Board's decisions. Usually, a government owns golden shares of important enterprises that were privatized. Golden shares are mostly used in European countries.

Source: Wikipedia