Corporate Shareholders

A shareholder or stockholder in a corporation can be an individual or another company or corporation that is considered an “owner” of the existing corporation because it legally owns at least one share in the stock of the corporation. Usually holding the right to one vote per share on matters such as elections to the board of directors, the right to share in distributions of the company's income, the right to purchase new shares issued by the company, and the right to a company's assets during a liquidation of the company, the person or persons who own a majority of the stock can generally vote in the board that best suits their interests and run the company. Another important point to note is that although directors and officers of a company are bound by fiduciary duties to act in the best interest of the shareholders, the shareholders themselves normally do not have such duties towards each other.