{"id":112335,"date":"2023-03-27T18:46:11","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T18:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/?p=112335"},"modified":"2023-03-27T18:46:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T18:46:45","slug":"publicly-traded-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/bs-markets\/publicly-traded-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"PUBLICLY TRADED COMPANIES: Definition, 2023 List & All You Need","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
A publicly traded company issues every share available for purchase on the stock market. A company becomes publicly traded by making an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares, which helps it raise capital and gives both investors and the company a powerful way to create wealth. The stock market has proven to be one of the most powerful wealth-creation vehicles in history. The total value of all shares issued by publicly traded US companies, or the market capitalization of the US stock market, is currently around $50 trillion. Investors must understand the distinction between public and private companies, as well as the requirements that publicly traded companies must meet. So, in this blog post, we\u2019ll discuss a list of publicly traded companies in the US, as well as some examples, and see how many there are.<\/p>
Publicly traded companies, also known as publicly listed companies, are those that have their shares listed on any of the stock exchanges that allow the trading of their shares to the general public, i.e., anyone can sell or buy their shares on the open market.<\/p>
A publicly traded company has listed itself on at least one public stock exchange and has issued securities to public investors for ownership in the organization. Being a public company has benefits such as increased liquidity and access to large amounts of capital. At the same time, there are some drawbacks, such as the numerous regulatory audits and reporting requirements.<\/p>
A certain percentage of the shares are issued to the public, but the majority shareholder retains control. Going public means that the secondary market can determine the value of the entire company through trading between investors.<\/p>
Initial Public Offerings are a method used by private companies to go public. They hire investment bankers to help them prepare a prospectus and, if possible, underwrite the issue. Investment bankers also research to determine the best offer price.<\/p>
Let us examine the process of raising capital by going public, which is used by all companies, from small publicly traded companies to large ones:<\/p>
Here is a list of publicly traded companies with the highest market capitalizations. They are referred to as the most valuable companies in the media, which refers to their market value.<\/p>
Shares of these companies are traded on the open market by retail and institutional investors alike. Privately held companies typically choose to go public after meeting all regulatory requirements because it requires a significant amount of capital. Procter & Gamble, Google, Apple, Tesla, and other well-known publicly traded companies are examples.<\/p>
According to the Vanguard Total World fund holdings, there are 9,461 publicly traded companies. However, ETF does not necessarily own all stocks.<\/p>
There are approximately 37,000 publicly traded companies in the world if you include OTC exchanges, more developing countries, or countries with conflicting regulations like Saudi Arabia and Russia (which Vanguard does not offer in the fund).<\/p>
You can broaden that to include bankruptcies, ADRs, and preferred stock, and there are well over 100k individual securities traded on 135+ exchanges worldwide.<\/p>
Top publicly traded companies choose to sell a portion of their company to the public to raise capital or diversify. However, this process can have both advantages and disadvantages. Let us discuss them through the points below:<\/p>
The claim of ownership and the ability to list on markets are the primary distinctions between a public company and a private company. When a company goes public, it allows investors or traders from the general public to buy or sell its stock. A private company, on the other hand, does not list its stock on any public stock exchange and thus cannot be traded publicly.<\/p>
To understand the distinction between these two entities, it is necessary to recognize that a private company is similar to a public company in terms of financing, funding, and investment opportunities. A private company can attract individual or institutional investors in exchange for ownership.<\/p>
However, the transaction or deal is not conducted in the open market.
A private company is not accountable to any kind of shareholder. Even if the company has investments from individuals or institutions, there is no such agreement as there is between a public company and its shareholders.<\/p>