Issued Shares
The actual number of shares that have been granted to specific people or entities so far — a subset of the total shares your company is allowed to issue.
Quick Answer
Do issued shares include unexercised stock options?
No — issued shares only count shares actually held by a shareholder today. Unexercised options remain part of the fully diluted count until they're exercised, at which point they convert into actual issued shares.
- Issued shares are a real, present-tense ownership count
- Options only become issued shares once exercised
- Confirm which count a document is referencing before comparing numbers
The Lovie Advantage
Lovie clearly separates issued from fully diluted counts, so the two numbers are never confused on the same report.
See how this connects to Lovie Formation. For the formal definition, see the IRS's overview of S corporations.
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