A public company, publicly traded company, publicly held company, publicly listed company, or public limited company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public company can be listed on a stock exchange (listed company), which facilitates the trade of shares, or not (unlisted public company). In some jurisdictions, public companies over a certain size must be listed on an exchange.

Public companies are formed within the legal systems of particular states, and therefore have associations and formal designations which are distinct and separate in the polity in which they reside. While the general idea of a public company may be similar, differences are meaningful, and are at the core of international law disputes with regard to industry and trade.

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Shares trading is the buying and selling of company stock – or derivative products based on company stock – in the hope of making a profit. Shares represent a portion of the ownership of a public company, and make up its worth or market cap. The trading of shares is one of the most popular and best-known markets in investing, alongside Forex and commodities.There are two main methods of profiting from the price movements of shares: non-leveraged trading (share trading), and leveraged trading.
 

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