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Finance & Banking vocabulary · Corporate Finance

Shareholder

Meaning in finance & banking, with examples

/ˈʃeəhəʊldə/nounCore term

In finance & banking, shareholder means: A person or organisation that owns shares in a company and so owns part of it, with rights such as voting and receiving dividends.

In Turkish: pay sahibi, hissedar, ortak

How it is used

Used in annual reports, corporate banking and M&A. Companies hold a general meeting for shareholders and pay dividends to them. Lenders ask who the majority shareholders are, and a 'shareholder loan' is money the owners lend to their own company. American English also says 'stockholder'.

Example sentences

  1. The bank's largest shareholder holds 40% of its capital.

  2. Shareholders approved the dividend at the general meeting.

Common collocations

  • majority shareholder
  • minority shareholder
  • shareholder loan
  • shareholder value
  • general meeting
  • equityThe owners' share of a company: what is left when liabilities are taken away from assets. It includes paid-in capital and retained profits.
  • dividendA part of a company's profit that is paid to its shareholders, usually in cash and as an amount per share.
  • capitalMoney and other financial resources used to start and run a business; for banks, the owners' funds that absorb losses and protect depositors.
  • raise capitalTo get money for a business from investors or lenders, for example by selling new shares, issuing bonds or borrowing.
  • return on equityNet profit divided by shareholders' equity, shown as a percentage. It measures how much profit a company makes with the money its owners have invested.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Corporate Finance

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not financial advice.