Joint-stock company

A joint-stock company is a business entity where different stocks can be bought and owned by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by his or her shares (certificates of ownership). This allows for the unequal ownership of a business with some shareholders owning a bigger proportion of a company than others do. Shareholders are able to transfer their shares to others without any effects to the continued existence of the company.

In modern day corporate law, the existence of a joint-stock company is often synonymous with incorporation (i.e. possession of legal personality separate from shareholders) and limited liability (meaning that the shareholders are only liable for the company's debts to the value of the money they invested in the company). And as a consequence joint-stock companies are commonly known as corporations or limited companies.

Some jurisdictions still provide the possibility of registering joint-stock companies without limited liability. In the United Kingdom and other countries which have adopted their model of company law, these are known as unlimited companies. In the United States, they are known simply as "joint-stock companies".

Stock company

Stock company can refer to:

Repertory theatre

A repertory theatre (also called repertory, rep or stock) can be a Western theatre or opera production in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. In the British system, however, it used to be that even quite small towns would support a rep and the resident company would present a different play every week, either a revival from the full range of classics or, if given the chance, a new play, once the rights had been released after a West End or Broadway run. However the companies were not known for trying out untried new work. The methods, now seldom seen, would be also used in the United States, Canada, and Australia.

Resident company