(; abbreviated AG, ) is a German word for a

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...

limited by share ownership (i.e. one which is owned by its

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

s) whose shares may be traded on a

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange, as ...

. The term is used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland (where it is equivalent to a ''

société anonyme The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and employ civil law. Originally, shareholders could be literally anonymous and collect div ...

'' or a ''

società per azioni ''Società'' (Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders were Ranuccio Bianchi ...

''), and

South Tyrol it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol , settlement_type = Autonomous province , image_skyline = , image_alt ...

for companies incorporated there. It is also used in Luxembourg (as lb, Aktiëgesellschaft, label=none, ), although the equivalent French language term ''

'' is more common. In the United Kingdom, the equivalent term is "PLC" and in the United States while the terms "incorporated" or "corporation" are typically used, technically the more precise equivalent term is "

joint-stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...

" (though note for the British term only a minority of public limited companies have their shares listed on stock exchanges).

Meaning of the word

The German word ''Aktiengesellschaft'' is a compound noun made up of two elements: ''Aktien'' meaning an acting part or share, and ''Gesellschaft'', meaning company or society. English translations include ''share company'', or ''company limited by shares'', or

. In German, the use of the term ''Aktien'' for shares is restricted to ''Aktiengesellschaften''. Shares in other types of German companies (e.g. GmbH or a

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

) are called ''Anteile'' (parts-of) rather than ''Aktien''.

Legal basis

In Germany and Austria, the legal basis of the AG is the German ''Aktiengesetz'' (abbr. AktG; "shares law") or the Austrian ''Aktiengesetz'' (abbr. AktG). Since the German commercial law (§ 19 ''Handelsgesetzbuch'') requires all corporations to specify their legal form in their name, in order to inform the public of the limits on their liability, all German (required by § 4 ''Aktiengesetz'') and Austrian stock corporations include ''Aktiengesellschaft'' or ''AG'' as part of their name, frequently as a suffix. In Switzerland, the Company Limited by Shares (''Aktiengesellschaft'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, ''société anonyme'' in French, ''società anonima'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

, ''societad anonima'' in Romansh) is defined in Title Twenty-Six of the

Code of Obligations The law of obligations is one branch of private law under the civil law legal system and so-called "mixed" legal systems. It is the body of rules that organizes and regulates the rights and duties arising between individuals. The specific rights a ...

, Article 620. Article 950 specifies that the business name must indicate the legal form.

Structure

German AGs have a "two-tiered board" structure, consisting of a supervisory board (''Aufsichtsrat'') and a management board (''Vorstand''). The supervisory board is generally controlled by shareholders, although employees may have seats, depending on the size of the company. The management board directly runs the company, but its members may be removed by the supervisory board, which also determines the management board's compensation. Some German AGs have management boards which determine their own remuneration, but that situation is now relatively uncommon. The general meeting is the supreme governing body of a Swiss company limited by shares. It elects the board of directors (''Verwaltungsrat'' in

) and the external auditors. The board of directors may appoint and dismiss persons entrusted with managing and representing the company.

Similar forms

The equivalent terms in other countries include the following, which mostly mean literally either "share company/society" or "anonymous company/society". * Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Peru, Spain, and other Spanish speaking countries – ''

Sociedad Anónima The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance languages, Romance language as their official language and employ civil law (legal system), civil law. Originally, shareholders ...

'' (S.A.) * Belgium (Dutch language), Netherlands – '' Naamloze Vennootschap'' (N.V.) * Belgium (French language), France – ''

Société Anonyme The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and employ civil law. Originally, shareholders could be literally anonymous and collect div ...

'' (S.A.) * Brazil – '' Sociedade Anônima'' (S.A. or S/A or SA) * Bulgaria – '' Акционерно дружество'' (Akcionerno druzhestvo), derived directly from the German AG * Croatia - '' dioničko društvo'' (d.d.) * Czech Republic - ''

Akciová společnost A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...

- (a.s.) * Denmark – ''

Aktieselskab ''Aktieselskab'' (; Abbreviation, abbr.: A/S, or a/s, Unicode ; literally meaning: "stock company") is the Denmark, Danish name for a stock-based corporation. An ''aktieselskab'' may be either publicly traded or private. Liability The sharehold ...

'' (A/S) * Estonia – '' Aktsiaselts'' (AS) * Finland – ''

Osakeyhtiö ''Osakeyhtiö'' (; " stock company"), often abbreviated to Oy (), is the term for a Finnish limited company (e.g., Ltd, LLC, or GmbH). The Swedish-language term is '' aktiebolag'', often abbreviated (in Finland) to Ab. The Swedish abbreviati ...

'' (Oy) * Greece - ''Ανώνυμος Εταιρεία'' (Anonymos Etaireia) (A.E., but often translated as S.A.) * Hungary – '' Részvénytársaság'' (Rt) * Japan – ''

Kabushiki gaisha A or ''kabushiki kaisha'', commonly abbreviated K.K. or KK, is a type of defined under the Companies Act of Japan. The term is often translated as "stock company", " joint-stock company" or "stock corporation". The term ''kabushiki gaisha'' i ...

'' (K.K.), originally derived directly from the German AG (the term is based on the German) until

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions, w ...

s under the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

–led

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

made the form similar to Illinois corporate law * Italy – ''

Società per azioni ''Società'' (Italian: ''Society'') was an Italian communist cultural magazine published in Italy between 1945 and 1961. History and profile ''Società'' was founded as a quarterly magazine in Florence in 1945. The founders were Ranuccio Bianchi ...

'' (SpA), derived directly from the German AG * Malaysia – ''

Berhad A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company whose shares may be freel ...

'' (Bhd) * Norway – ''

Aksjeselskap ''Aksjeselskap'' is the Norwegian term for a stock-based company. It is usually abbreviated AS, historically often written as A/S. An AS is always a limited company, i.e. the owners cannot be held liable for any debt beyond the stock capital. P ...

'' (AS) * Romania – '' Societate pe acțiuni'' or "Societate anonimă" (S.A.) * Russia – '' Публичное акционерное общество'' (Publichnoe akcionernoe obschestvo) (ПАО) * Serbia - '' deoničarsko društvo'' (d.d.) and '' akcionarsko društvo'' (a.d.) * Slovakia -

Akciová spoločnosť A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certificates ...

(a.s.) * Sweden – ''

Aktiebolag ''Aktiebolag'' (, " stock company") is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated AB (in Sweden), Ab (in Finland), or, rarely, A/B (dated), roughly equivalent to the abbreviations ''Ltd ...

'' (AB) * Turkey – ''

Anonim Şirket The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance languages, Romance language as their official language and employ civil law (legal system), civil law. Originally, shareholders ...

'' (A.Ş.) * Poland – ''

Spółka akcyjna The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance language as their official language and employ civil law. Originally, shareholders could be literally anonymous and collect div ...

'' (S.A.) * Portugal – ''

Sociedade Anónima The abbreviation S.A. or SA designates a type of limited company in certain countries, most of which have a Romance languages, Romance language as their official language and employ civil law (legal system), civil law. Originally, shareholders ...

'' (S.A.) * United Kingdom and Ireland (English) – ''

Public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability company ...

'' (Plc) * United Kingdom (Welsh) - ''cymdeithas cyhoeddus cyfyngedig'' (ccc)

Meaning of the word

Legal basis

Structure

Similar forms

See also

Explanatory notes

References

Further reading