Shares Outstanding

Returns the total number of shares outstanding for a company. This includes all shares held by shareholders, including restricted shares held by insiders.

Shares Outstanding vs Float

Metric	Definition
Shares Outstanding	All issued shares (restricted + unrestricted)
Float	Only shares available for public trading

Common Uses

Market Cap Calculation: Market Cap = Price x Shares Outstanding
EPS Calculation: EPS = Net Income / Shares Outstanding
Ownership Percentages: Calculate what % an investor owns
Dilution Analysis: Compare to fully diluted shares

Notes

Shares outstanding changes with stock splits, buybacks, and issuances
Basic shares outstanding differs from diluted (which includes options, convertibles)

Syntax

=Shares_Outstanding(Symbol)

Excel Desktop (Windows)

Returns

number

Total shares outstanding

Examples

=Shares_Outstanding("AAPL")

Apple shares outstanding

=Shares_Outstanding("MSFT")

Microsoft shares outstanding

=Shares_Outstanding("TSLA")

Tesla shares outstanding

=Shares_Outstanding(A1)

Symbol from cell reference

=Shares_Outstanding("AAPL")/1000000000

Shares in billions

When to Use

Calculating market capitalization
Computing earnings per share
Analyzing dilution effects
Ownership structure analysis
Building financial models

When NOT to Use

Scenario	Use Instead
Need tradeable shares	`FloatShares()`
Need market cap directly	`MarketCapitalization()`
Need diluted shares	`diluted_shares_outstanding()`
Need historical shares	`hf_Shares_Outstanding()`

Common Issues & FAQ

What causes shares outstanding to change?

Changes occur from:

Stock splits (increases shares, lowers price)
Stock buybacks (decreases shares)
New share issuances (increases shares)
Employee stock compensation (increases shares)

What's the difference between basic and diluted shares?

Basic shares = currently outstanding Diluted shares = outstanding + all potential shares from options, warrants, convertible securities

How do I calculate market cap manually?

=Last("SYMBOL") * Shares_Outstanding("SYMBOL")

Excel Templates Using Shares Outstanding

These ready-made MarketXLS templates call Shares_Outstanding() in their worksheet formulas. Open one to see the function working inside a complete model.

Related Formulas

More MarketXLS Profile formulas you can use in the same worksheet:

See Shares_Outstanding used in a complete workbook: discounted cash flow excel: build a two-stage DCF model that updates itself

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MarketXLS Excel Add-in Tutorial - How to Use Shares Outstanding and Other Financial Formulas

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