primary shares

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{{Short description|Newly issued shares of common stock}}

In an equity offering, primary shares, in contrast to secondary shares, refer to newly issued shares of common stock.{{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N7offzx9PwIC&q=Primary+shares&pg=PT156|title=The Value Mindset: Returning to the First Principles of Capitalist Enterprise|last1=Stern|first1=Erik|last2=Hutchinson|first2=Mike|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2011|isbn=978-1-118-16091-6|location=Hoboken, NJ|pages=|language=en|chapter=Chapter 20: Initial Public Offering|orig-year=2004}} Proceeds from the sale of primary shares go to the issuer, while those from preexisting secondary shares go to shareholders.{{Cite news|url=https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/finance/equity-capital-market-ecm/|title=Equity Capital Market (ECM) - Corporate Finance Institute|work=Corporate Finance Institute|access-date=2018-01-09|language=en-US}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OhF4P2dWJwoC&q=Primary+shares&pg=PA7|title=IPOs and Equity Offerings|last=Geddes|first=Ross|publisher=Elsevier|year=2003|isbn=978-0-08-047878-4|series=Elsevier Finance|location=Oxford and Burlington, MA|pages=7|language=en}}

Most initial public offerings (IPOs) have a mix of both primary and secondary shares.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0neAgAAQBAJ&q=Primary+shares&pg=PA129|title=Initial Public Offerings: The mechanics and performance of IPOs|last=Khurshed|first=Arif|publisher=Harriman House Limited|year=2011|isbn=978-1-905641-15-4|location=Petersfield, UK|pages=129|language=en}}