Broadly speaking, Class A, Class B, and Class C shares are different categories of company that have different voting rights and different levels of access to distributions and dividends. Companies may use these tiers so that certain key shareholders, such as founders or executives, have more voting power than ordinary shareholders. These shareholders also may have priority on the company’s profits and assets, and may have different access to dividends.
Understanding the different share classes can lead to a host of questions as you’re learning to invest: How are the share classes different from each other and how does the class category affect your shares of a stock? What are the risks and rewards of each class of stock shares? And how does an alphabet soup of stocks affect a stockholder’s portfolio?
Not all companies have alternate stock classes. And what can make share categories even more complicated is that while the classifications are common, each company can define their stock classes, meaning that they can vary from company to company. That makes it even more important for investors to know exactly what they’re getting when they purchase a certain type of stock. Understanding how different share classes typically differ can help when making investment decisions or analyzing business news.
Why Companies Have Different Types of Stock Shares
When a company goes public, they are selling portions of their company, known as stocks, to shareholders.
Shareholders own a portion of the company’s assets and profits and have a say in how the company is governed. To mitigate risk and retain majority control of the company, a company can restrict the amount of stock they sell and retain majority ownership in the company. Or they can create different shareholder classes with different rights.
By creating multiple shareholder classes when they go public, a company can ensure that executives maintain control of the company and have more influence over business decisions. For example, while ordinary shareholders, or Class B shareholders, may have one vote per share owned, individuals with executive shares, or Class A shares, may have 100 votes per share owned. Executives also may get first priority of profits, which can be important in the case of an acquisition or closure, where there is only a finite amount of profit.
Different stock classes can also reward early investors. For example, some companies may designate Class A investors as those who invested with the company prior to a certain time period, such as a merger. These investors may have more votes per share and rights to dividends than Class B investors. A company’s charter, perspective, and bylaws should outline the differences between the classes.
Class differentiation has become more critical in creating a portfolio in recent years because investors have access to different classes in a way they may not have had access in the past. For example, mutual funds frequently divide their shares into A, B, and C class shares based on the type of investor they want to attract.
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The Different Types of Shares
Just like there are different types of stock, there are different types of shareholders. Because different stock classes have such different terms, depending on the company, investors may use additional terminology to describe the stock they hold. This can include:
Preferred shares
Investors who buy preferred shares may not have voting rights, but may have access to a regular dividend that may not be available to shareholders of common stock.
Common shares
Sometimes called “ordinary shares,” common shares are stocks bought and measured on the market. Owners have voting rights. They may have dividends and access to profits, though they may come after other investors, such as executive shareholders and preferred shareholders have been paid.
Nonvoting shares
These are typically offered by private companies or as part of a compensation package to employees. Companies may use non voting shares so employees and former employees don’t have an outsize influence in company decision-making, or so that power remains consolidated with the executive board and outside shareholders. Some companies create a separate class of stock, Class C stock, that comes without voting rights and that may be less expensive than other classes.
Executive shares
Typically, these shares are held by founders or company executives. Their stock may have outsize voting rights and may also have restrictions on the ability to sell the shares. Executive shares usually do not trade on the public markets.
Advisory shares
Often offered to advisors or large investors of a company, these shares may have preferred rights and do not trade on public markets.
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What Are Class A Shares?
While the specific attributes of Class A shares depend on the company, they generally come with more voting power and a higher priority for dividends and profit in the event of liquidation. Class A shares may be more expensive than Class B shares, or may not be available to the general public.
Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational conglomerate owned by Warren Buffet, may be one of the most famous examples of different stock tiers. The company’s Class A stock regularly trades at more than $300,000 a share. Its Class B stock trades at around $200 a share. Class B stockholders have a small percentage of the vote that a Class A stockholder has. And while Class A stockholders can convert their shares into Class B shares, a Class B shareholder cannot convert their shares into Class A shares.
Many of the tech companies that have gone public in recent years have also used a dual-share class system.
In some cases, shareholders are not allowed to trade their Class A shares, so they have a conversion that allows the owner to convert them into Class B, which they can sell or trade. Executives may also be able to sell their shares in a secondary offering, following the IPO.
What Are Class B Shares?
Often companies refer to their Class B shares as “common shares” or “ordinary shares,” (But occasionally, companies flip the definition and have Class A shares designated as common shares and Class B shares as founder and executive shares). Investors can buy and sell common shares on a public exchange, where, typically, one share equals one vote. Class B shares carry no preferential treatment when it comes to dividing profits or dividends.
What Are Class C Shares?
Some companies also offer Class C shares, which they may give to employees as part of their compensation package. These shares may have specific restrictions, such as an inability to trade the shares.
Class C shares also may also refer to alternate share classes available to public investors. Often priced lower than Class A shares and with restrictions on voting rights, these shares may be more accessible to larger groups of investors.
But this is not always the case. For example, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, has Class A and Class C shares. Both trade consistently at above $1500 per share, with negligible difference between the two prices.
The difference between Class C and common stock shares can be subtle. It’s important to note that these stock classes vary depending on the company. So it’s important to do research and understand exactly what type of shares you’re buying before you commit to purchasing a certain class of stock.
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What are Dual Class Shares?
Companies that offer more than one class of shares have “dual class shares.”
This is a fairly common practice — more than one in four companies that went public in the first half of 2019 had dual class shares, according to a report by the Council of Institutional Investors. Some companies offer dual class shares that automatically convert to a common share with voting privilege at a set period of time.
These may be startups who go public through IPO and do not want public investors to have a say in the company’s decision-making. There has been controversy about companies offering two share classes of stock to the public, with detractors concerned that multiple share classes may lead to governance issues, such as reduced accountability. But others argue that multiple share classes can be an asset for a public company, leading to improved performance.
The Takeaway
It can be difficult to determine which investment class is the best option for you if you’re deciding to invest in a public company that offers multiple share classes. Beyond market price, understanding how the stock will function in your overall portfolio as well as your personal investing philosophy can help guide you choose the best share class for you.
For example, investors who may be looking for shorter-term investments may choose a stock class without voting privileges. Other investors who want to be active in corporate governance may prefer share classes that come with voting rights. And some investors may be looking for stocks that provide guaranteed dividends, which may guide their decision toward one class of shares. Speaking with a financial advisor about your personal portfolio goals can help guide you in the right direction.
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