Shareholder

A shareholder is a person or entity owning one or more shares of a company stock. Shareholders represent the collective ownership of a company, either publicly traded or privately held. Shareholders generally benefit from corporate earnings in the form of dividends, capital gains distributions, and appreciation. Conversely, when a company loses money, the shareholder will suffer a loss in value and/or dividends. Shareholders losses are generally limited to the value of the investment.