What does stockholder mean?
A stockholder is a person who owns shares, or stock, in a company. The term is especially common in American and Canadian English, while British English more often uses the equivalent word shareholder. A stockholder may own a small number of shares or have a substantial holding, and the word is used in contexts such as voting, company meetings, dividends, and corporate decisions. In legal and financial writing, it emphasizes ownership rather than trading activity: a stockholder owns shares, while a stockbroker trades them on behalf of clients. The word is also used more broadly for someone whose wealth or investment is connected with a particular company or industry, although its usual meaning concerns direct ownership of shares.
nounA person who owns shares of stock in a company. A stockholder may also be called a shareholder.
- A person who holds or owns stock, especially shares in a corporation.
"The stockholder voted against the proposed merger."
"The company notified its stockholders about the annual meeting."
"As a major stockholder, she had a significant say in the company's future."
The regular plural is stockholders; stock holders is a less common two-word form.
"Existing stockholders may attend the meeting in person or by proxy."
If you own a share of a company, you are a stockholder in the plainest legal sense—and in Britain, you are more often called a shareholder.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does stockholder come from?
The word is a compound of stock and holder. In this sense, stock means a share or an interest in a company, while holder means a person who possesses or owns something. The compound was formed from established English financial and legal vocabulary and is especially associated with North American usage; shareholder serves as the corresponding term common in British English.
Related word forms
How stockholder is actually used
The term is standard in American and Canadian business, legal, and financial English. British English generally favors shareholder, though stockholder is understood and used in some legal and historical contexts.
Easily confused with stockholder
Both terms mean someone who owns shares, but shareholder is more common in British English, while stockholder is especially common in American and Canadian English.
A stockholder owns shares, whereas a stockbroker buys and sells shares on behalf of clients.