Investopedia

Float

Dictionary Says

Definition of 'Float'

1. The total number of shares publicly owned and available for trading. The float is calculated by subtracting restricted shares from outstanding shares.

2. A float can also refer to a small portion of the money supply representing a balance that is simultaneously present in a buyers and a payers account. A float results from the delay occurring between the time that a cheque is written and the money actually being deducted from the writer's account. These balances are temporarily double counted as part of the overall money supply.
Investopedia Says

Investopedia explains 'Float'

For example, a company may have 10 million outstanding shares, but only seven million are trading on the stock market. Therefore, this company's float would be seven million.
Stocks with smaller floats tend to be more volatile than those with larger floats.

Articles Of Interest

  1. The Basics Of Outstanding Shares And The Float

    We go over different types of shares and what investors need to know about them.
  2. What exactly is a company's float?

    The term "float" refers to the regular shares that a company has issued to the public that are available for investors to trade. This figure is derived by taking a company's outstanding shares ...
  3. How can a company trade more shares in one day than there are shares outstanding?

    The number of shares traded in a single day can be greater than the number of a company's outstanding shares, but this is relatively rare. This high trading volume tends to occur during important ...
  4. Depreciation: Straight-Line Vs. Double-Declining Methods

    Appreciate the different methods used to describe how book value is "used up".
  5. The NYSE And Nasdaq: How They Work

    Learn some of the important differences in the way these exchanges operate and the securities that trade on them.
  6. Financial Statement: Extraordinary Vs. Nonrecurring Items

    When it comes to analyzing a company, successful analysts spend considerable time differentiating between accounting items that are likely to recur going forward from those that most likely will ...
  7. Get A Career In Showbiz Accounting

    An accounting career doesn't have to be boring. If you love numbers, but want excitement as well, consider the field of showbiz accounting.
  8. What Management Accountants Do

    If you like keeping track of a company's income and expenses but also want to hold a position with significant responsibility and authority, management accounting could be the job for you.
  9. GAAP And The IFRS Standards Convergence Efforts In 3 Substantial Areas

    Understand the specific steps that have been taken in hopes of converging the GAAP and the IFRS accounting standards, despite the philosophically and culturally based methodological differences ...
  10. Using The Price-To-Book Ratio To Evaluate Companies

    The P/B ratio can be an easy way to determine a company's value, but it isn't magic!
comments powered by Disqus
Marketplace
Hot Definitions
  1. Winner's Curse

    Because of incomplete information, emotions or any other number of factors regarding the item being auctioned, bidders can have a difficult time determining the item's intrinsic value. As a result, the largest overestimation of an item's value ends up winning the auction.
  2. Glocalization

    A combination of the words "globalization" and "localization" used to describe a product or service that is developed and distributed globally, but is also fashioned to accommodate the user or consumer in a local market.
  3. Disaster Loss

    A special type of tax-deductible loss, similar to a casualty loss, where a loss has been incurred by taxpayers who reside in an area that has been designated as a federal disaster area by the President.
  4. Fool In The Shower

    The notion that changes or policies designed to alter the course of the economy should be done slowly, rather than all at once.
  5. Pattern Day Trader

    An SEC designation for traders who trade the same security four or more times per day (buys and sells) over a five-day period, and for whom same-day trades make up at least 6% of their activity for that period.
  6. Cost-Push Inflation

    A phenomenon in which the general price levels rise (inflation) due to increases in the cost of wages and raw materials.
Trading Center