Definition of Issued Stock

Applying "Issued Stock" to Securities Exams:

Issued stock is stock that has been authorized for sale and that has actually been sold to the investing public. The total number of authorized shares typically exceeds the total number of issued shares so that the corporation may sell additional shares in the future to meet its needs. Once shares have been sold to the investing public they will always be counted as issued shares regardless of their ownership or subsequent repurchase by the corporation.