stockholder

Owner of part of the stock capital of a company. Stockholders own stock in order to make a return. They do this partly by receiving dividends, a share of the profit made by the company, and partly by seeing the price of their stock rise over time as the value of the company increases. However, companies can make losses rather than profits, in which case stockholders are unlikely to receive a dividend. A loss-making company is also likely to see its stock fall in price.

Ultimately, if a private or public limited company goes bankrupt, the stockholders have limited liability (that is, they are not liable for all the company's debts, though they may lose their investment in the stock). Some or all of the stockholders will have voting rights in the company. This means, for example, that they can vote on resolutions passed at the annual general meeting of the company and vote in directors.