What Is a Common Equity Offering? (2024)

A common equity offering comes either as an initial public offering or a secondary offering if the company’s stock is already being traded. Each offering has the potential for investors to realize a profit, and each has pitfalls that may trap the unwary. Careful attention to details can maximize your chance of earning profit.

Groundwork for an IPO

  1. An initial public offering occurs when management of a privately held company decides to make their stock available to the public. The motives are varied and include the company’s founders wanting to cash in, venture capitalists wanting to recoup their investment and the company needing more capital for future expansion. Once the decision is made, the firm hires an investment banker to underwrite the offering. The underwriter performs its due diligence by scrutinizing the firm’s financial records and examining all of its operations. After the investment banker approves the move it issues a letter of intent, and the company compiles a disclosure statement called an S-1 or prospectus. The preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a “red herring,” because a disclaimer is printed on the cover in red warning that the contents have not yet been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The IPO

  1. When the S-1 is filed, the company enters a “quiet period.” Management and insiders are banned from making public comments about the offering. Meanwhile the SEC is fact-checking the S-1 to verify the information. The stock cannot be sold, but brokers can collect “indications of interest” from potential buyers. When the SEC is satisfied with the completeness of the S-1, it approves the offering. The underwriter and management set the offering price, and stock trading begins. If the price is set at a reasonable level, it will rise and investors will be happy. If management is greedy and sets the price high, the stock will fall from its offering level and investors may not see a profit for some time.

Secondary Offering

  1. A secondary offering occurs when a publicly traded company needs to raise additional revenue for expansion or other worthwhile purpose. As with the IPO, the firm hires an investment banker that performs the same tasks. The underwriter and management set the number of shares being offered and the offering price. The price, of course, will be determined by the market price of the stock on the day of the offering. As with the IPO, the company must file an S-1 report, which the SEC will examine thoroughly. Secondary offerings do not generate the excitement of an IPO, since the stock is already trading.

After the Secondary Offering

  1. A secondary offering dilutes the value of the stock that had been outstanding. A simple example illustrates the point. Suppose you own stock valued at $1,000 and there is $10,000 outstanding. You own 10 percent of the company. If the company sells $2,000 more in stock there will be $12,000 outstanding and you share of the ownership has dropped to 8.3 percent unless you buy more stock. Another effect of a secondary offering is a reduction in earnings per share, a commonly used evaluation metric. With more shares outstanding the earnings per share will drop, which will probably result in the stock price declining.

What Is a Common Equity Offering? (2024)

FAQs

What is a common equity offering? ›

A common equity offering comes either as an initial public offering or a secondary offering if the company's stock is already being traded. Each offering has the potential for investors to realize a profit, and each has pitfalls that may trap the unwary.

What does common equity mean? ›

Common equity is the total value of ownership participation invested in a company. Shareholding implies ownership. Thus, investors holding common equity can vote for or against the company's directors, and they can sell their shares whenever they want. They're also entitled to dividends when the company declares them.

What is the meaning of equity offering? ›

In short, an equity offering is when a company sells shares of its business to outside investors as a means of raising capital. Doing so results in a cash injection that can then be used to invest in the company any way its management believes is an effective way of growing the company.

What is the most common equity? ›

Perhaps the most common type of equity is “shareholders' equity," which is calculated by taking a company's total assets and subtracting its total liabilities.

What is a good equity offer? ›

On average, startups are reserving a 13% to 20% equity pool for employees. This is important for startups to consider before they pursue series funding or other investments, in which they may be offering percentages of equity to investors.

What are the benefits of common equity? ›

Such stock option offers individuals a power to elect the company's board of directors and further extends them voting rights to formulate corporate policies. Usually, in the long term, common shares are said to generate returns at a high rate.

How to find common equity? ›

You can come down to Common Equity by multiplying outstanding common stock by the face value of the stock to get the desired figure. If a company has 10,000 shares with a face value of $5/per share, its common equity will be $50,000.

What is the difference between equity and common equity? ›

Preferred equity holders stand a decent chance of having a portion of their investment reimbursed should an investment property fall apart. Common equity holders do not have that privileged risk protection. Instead, common equity holders are in the most profitable position in exchange for the high level of risk.

What is the difference between preferred and common equity? ›

The main difference between preferred and common stock is that preferred stock gives no voting rights to shareholders while common stock does. Preferred shareholders have priority over a company's income, meaning they are paid dividends before common shareholders.

What is the meaning of equity offered? ›

What does it mean if a company offers equity to all employees? Having equity in a company means that you have part ownership of that company. If your employer offers this option to a select few employees, then the potential for your percentage of ownership is higher.

How do you calculate equity offer? ›

Equity offer calculation. Equity value is the value that can be attributed to a company's shareholders because they provided the stock. The current share price is multiplied by the total number of shares outstanding to arrive at the equity value.

How do you offer equity? ›

How to Offer Equity
  1. Create an Employee Option Pool. Your first step is to determine how much equity you want to reserve for your employees. ...
  2. Decide the Type of Stock and Amount. Your next step is to decide if you want to offer stock options or stock grants and preferred or common stock. ...
  3. Create Contractual Agreements.

What do you mean by common equity? ›

Common equity is the amount that all common shareholders have invested in a company. Most importantly, this includes the value of the common shares plus retained earnings and additional paid-in capital.

Is common equity an asset? ›

Common stock is an asset for the company that issued it, but it is not a liability. Common stock represents ownership in a company and represents a claim on the company's assets and earnings.

Is common equity part of debt? ›

Equity capital arises from ownership shares in a company and claims to its future cash flows and profits. Debt comes in the form of bond issues or loans, while equity may come in the form of common stock, preferred stock, or retained earnings. Short-term debt is also considered to be part of the capital structure.

What is considered common stock equity? ›

Equity is the value of what the stockholders own. On a company's balance sheet, common stock is recorded in the "stockholders' equity" section. This is where investors can determine the book value, or net worth, of their shares, which is equal to the company's assets minus its liabilities.

What does it mean if a company is offering equity? ›

Equity compensation also known as share-based or stock-based compensation, is a type of non-cash pay that a company offers to employees to partake in ownership of the firm, whether it's a private or public company.

What does it mean when a company offers common shares? ›

Common shares are issued to business owners and other investors as proof of the money they have paid into a company. Of all shareholders, common shareholders have the least claim on a company's assets.

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