Public company, or publicly listed, or publicly traded company

A public company, or publicly traded company, is a company listed on a stock exchange or the OTC markets. Ownership of the company’s stock is divided into shares. Public companies publish annual reports have higher levels of reporting, regulations, and public scrutiny compared to private companies, including being required to disclose financial information about their operations, including revenue, profit and net loss. Going public is another way of saying a company is going through an initial public offering (IPO). It’s a less formal term to describe how a company is moving from private ownership - owned by their founders, financial backers, and employees - to public ownership, where anyone can buy shares in the company on a share market.