"Authorized shares" refers to the number of shares the corporation is allowed to issue under its certificate or articles of incorporation. What are Shares of Stock and how are they used?Authorized stock is the maximum number of shares that a corporation is legally permitted to issue, as specified in its articles of incorporation. Issued a nontaxable stock dividend of one share for each share owned. If you hold certificated shares of Rockwell Collins common stock, you must properly complete a Letter of Transmittal and return it to Computershare. Shares of stock are the units of ownership of business corporations. When a corporation is formed, it is allowed to issue up to a certain number of shares. There's no legal requirement for the number of authorized shares. Your articles of incorporation set the number. Common stock increased from 5,600,000,000 to 11,200,000,000 shares.