Which type of corporation has its stock traded on public exchanges?

A publicly held corporation is one whose shares are available for purchase by the general public on stock exchanges. This means that the ownership of the company is distributed among many shareholders, and these shares can be bought and sold in a regulated market. Publicly held corporations are subject to strict reporting and regulatory requirements imposed by government agencies, ensuring a level of transparency that protects investors.

In contrast, privately held corporations do not trade their stock on public exchanges and typically have a limited number of shareholders, which often includes founders, family members, or private investors. Family-owned corporations are a subset of privately held ones, focusing primarily on ownership being kept within a particular family's lineage, while not-for-profit corporations are organized for purposes other than generating profit and do not issue stock at all. This distinction highlights the unique characteristics and regulations that govern publicly held corporations, emphasizing their accessibility to a wide range of investors and the accountability that comes with being publicly traded.