The number of shares outstanding for a company is equal to the number of shares issued minus the number of shares held in the company's treasury. Here's how to find that number., is proposing a rights offering. The number of shares outstanding is listed on a company's balance sheet as "Capital Stock" and is reported on the company's quarterly filings. Shares outstanding refers to the number of shares of common stock that investors currently own and are used to calculate many common financial metrics. A corporation cannot issue more shares than authorized. Outstanding shares represent the number of a company's shares that are traded on the secondary market and, therefore, are available to investors. Once issued, the company's outstanding shares are bought and sold through the exchange. The chart above depicts the distribution of Shares Outstanding for companies operating in the Consumer Discretionary Sector in the Developed economic region. The truth is, no one knows if a company has what it takes to reward its investors with a lifetime of passive income.