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Key Business Terms

Here are some key business terms:

Unlimited and limited liability

Unlimited and limited liability

  • Limited companies can raise additional finance by selling shares. Individuals or groups who buy shares in limited companies are called shareholders.
Ordinary share capital

Ordinary share capital

  • Ordinary share capital refers to the amount of finance raised through selling shares to shareholders. Businesses usually use ordinary share capital as a source of long-term finance.
Market capitalisation

Market capitalisation

  • Market capitalisation is one way of valuing a business and can be calculated by multiplying the number of shares issued by the current market price of one share.
Example of market capitalisation

Example of market capitalisation

  • For example, in 2013, Royal Mail issued one billion shares at 330p each, generating ordinary share capital of £3.3 billion.
  • Royal Mail’s shares are now worth around 395p, so Royal Mail’s market capitalisation could be calculated by multiplying the current share price, 395p, by the number of shares, which is one billion, giving a market capitalisation of £3.95 billion.
Dividends

Dividends

  • Businesses may decide to share a proportion of their profits with shareholders, and this payment is called a dividend.
  • Dividends have advantages and disadvantages for businesses:
    • Dividends can make shareholders satisfied so that they do not wish to sell their shares.
    • Dividends can mean that profit is not spent on long-term growth which can limit the growth potential of the business.
Jump to other topics
1

What is Business?

2

Managers, Leadership & Decision Making

3

Decision Making to Improve Marketing Performance

4

Decision Making to Improve Operational Performance

5

Decision Making to Improve Financial Performance

6

Improving Human Resource Performance

7

Analysing the Strategic Position of a Business

8

Choosing Strategic Direction

9

How to Pursue Strategies

10

Managing Strategic Change

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