What is the difference between float and shares outstanding?

In contrast, shares outstanding include both tradeable shares on the open market and any restricted or closely-held/insider stock—essentially, all shares that a company has issued, So, float is always a portion of shares outstanding.

What does it mean when a Stock floats?

If the float makes up a large percentage of the total outstanding shares, it means the stock is highly liquid — many shares are available to be traded. If a company’s floating stock is low compared to its outstanding shares, it means the stock has many closely-held shares.

What is a company's float?

A company's "float" are the shares are available for trading on any given day — in other words, shares outstanding minus any restricted shares. For example, let's say Company ABC has 1 million shares outstanding and 750,000 floating shares.

What is the difference between float and authorized shares?

While the float is the number of shares available to the public, the authorized shares are the most shares a corporation can issue. The authorized share count is laid out when the company is created. It’s not required that the company issue all of its authorized shares, however. Outstanding shares are the number of shares a company has issued.