stock split

noun

: a division of corporate stock by the issuing to existing shareholders of a specified number of new shares with a corresponding lowering of par value for each outstanding share compare stock dividend

Examples of stock split in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In January 1893 the cordage trust executed a two-for-one stock split to enhance its appeal to smaller investors with a lower share price. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2024

Suggested Reading Tesla's 'Full Self-Driving' can't actually drive that far Super Micro Computer's big stock split is today. —Erin Marquis / Jalopnik, Quartz, 29 Sep. 2024

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic had to execute a 1-for-20 reverse stock split just to maintain its listing on the New York Stock Exchange. —Abid Ali, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2024

In a stock split, the company increases the number of shares, reducing the share price, but the total dollar value of all shares outstanding remains the same and doesn’t affect the company’s valuation. —Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

stock split

noun

: the division of the outstanding shares of a corporation into a larger number of shares thereby reducing the value of each share but not the total value of each holding compare reverse stock split

Note: The purpose of a stock split is to make the stock more attractive to potential investors by reducing the price per share.