unissued stock

Unissued stock refers to shares that have been authorized in a company’s charter but have never been sold or issued to shareholders or other investors. Because unissued stock has not been issued, it carries no voting rights, does not receive dividends, and is not represented by stock certificates. Shareholders cannot vote unissued shares at shareholder meetings.

The number of unissued shares is calculated by subtracting the sum of outstanding shares and treasury shares from the company’s  authorized shares: Unissued stock = authorized shares – (outstanding shares + treasury shares). For example, if a company has 10,000 authorized shares, 5,000 outstanding shares, and 500 treasury shares, then 4,500 shares remain unissued.

Unissued stock and treasury stock are distinct. Treasury stock consists of shares that were previously issued and sold to investors but later repurchased by the company. Those shares remain issued but cannot be voted or receive dividends while held by the company. By contrast, unissued stock refers to shares that have never been issued at all.

[Last reviewed in September of 2025 by the Wex Definitions Team] 

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