Question

Is there a difference between stockholders and stakeholders? Explain

Answer 1

Answer: Shareholder and stakeholders both are the owner’s of the company and both have the interest in the company.

Shareholders: Shareholders is someone who have a financial share or who owns stocks in a company so the owners of the stock is called the stockholders.

So it means shareholders have somehow part owners of the company. They will be able to earn profits in the form of dividend if the company earns profit, and earn capital gain on sale of shares if the company grow.

Shareholders may be the common people who given money to company to be the part owner of the company. These shares can buy from IPO or from the open share market.

Shareholders profit is totally depend on the profit of the company’s production , profit and growth. So if the company will grow than the stockholders are also grow.

Stakeholders: Shareholders are someone who has an interest in the company; this interest may be in form of financial interest and Interest may be direct interest or indirect interest in the company or some other kind of interest.

If anything is happen in the company than first the stakeholders will be affected in the company. Example of stakeholders is Employee , Directors, Shareholders etc.

Main difference in the both are as below,

1. Shareholders have shares in the company but stakeholders have the interest in the company
2. Shareholders can be stakeholders in a company, but stakeholders are not shareholders in a company
3. Shareholders are the owners of the company but the stakeholders are not the owner of the company.

stakeholders have a big influence on what will happen to a company while shareholders will only be affected any decision of the company