What is a Shareholder?

A shareholder is an individual or organization that owns shares of a company's stock. Shareholders are the true owners of a company, and their ownership is represented by the number of shares they hold.
Shareholders have a claim on a portion of the company's assets and profits. They receive dividends, which are portions of the company's profits, and they also have the right to vote on certain matters related to the company, such as the election of the board of directors.
Shareholders can be institutional investors, such as pension funds or mutual funds, or individual investors who have purchased shares of the company's stock through a brokerage firm. Shareholders play an important role in the governance of a company, as they elect the board of directors and have the power to approve or reject certain corporate actions, such as mergers and acquisitions.