Share class

The class of shares is one of the characteristics of shares (ordinary, preferred) held by one issuer, which indicates different attributes of an asset (e.g., the presence of rights to participate in management, the number of votes).

The most commonly used marking of classes includes Latin letters – A, B, C, etc.

For example, securities of the issuer Alphabet, Inc, which holds the shares listed on the Nasdaq exchange with the following tickers - GOOGL – Class A and GOOG – Class С.

Holders of Class A shares (GOOGL) have the right to vote — 1 vote for each share, and holders of Class C shares (GOOG) do not have such right (except in cases provided for by law).

For example, shares of Yandex N.V. Class A – YNDX shares are listed on the Moscow Exchange. They give their holders 1 vote per share. In addition, Yandex N.V also holds Class B shares, which give 10 votes per share, but they are held by major shareholders.

Besides, depending on the class of shares, the securities of one issuer may have different trading currencies on the exchange. Shenzhen Textile Holdings Co Ltd holds Class A shares – 000045 and Class B shares – 200045, which are traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. In the first case, the securities are traded in Chinese yuan (CNY), in the second – in Hong Kong dollars (HKD).