Capital stock is the number of common and preferred shares that a company is authorized to issue, and is recorded in shareholders' equity. Outstanding shares are shares of stock that have been issued."Authorized shares" refers to the number of shares the corporation is allowed to issue under its certificate or articles of incorporation. Authorized shares, or authorized stock, are simply a legally allowed maximum number of shares that a company can issue to investors. Authorized shares are the shares set forth in the company's charter – it is the total amount of shares the company is allowed to issue. A good rule of thumb is to authorize only what the corporation will need. Do stockholders in a Delaware corporation "own" it in the same sense as an owner of land held in fee simple absolute? Authorized shares is the maximum number of shares that the board of directors is "authorized", or allowed to issue. The capital of the corporation is typically calculated to be (and cannot be less than) the aggregate par value of all issued shares of capital stock. - Explain how to account for treasury stock.