The number of ordinary shares outstanding can never be greater than the number of shares issued.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The number of issued shares refers to the total number of shares that a company has authorized to sell, whether they have been sold or not. The number of outstanding shares refers to the number of shares actually owned by investors, which may be less than the number of issued shares if some shares have been repurchased or retired by the company. Therefore, the number of ordinary shares outstanding can never be greater than the number of shares issued.

The Number of Ordinary Shares Outstanding Can Never Be Greater