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Public float
Also called: float, non-affiliate float, EntityPublicFloat, free float
The market value of shares held by non-affiliates, meaning everyone except officers, directors and controlling holders: the SEC’s yardstick for company size.
Explanation
Public float counts only shares held by non-affiliates and multiplies them by the share price. Shares held by executives, directors and holders who control the company are excluded. It is reported on the 10-K cover as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter (dei:EntityPublicFloat in XBRL).
Several SEC thresholds depend on it: $75 million for unlimited shelf use (below that, the baby-shelf rule applies), $250 million for smaller-reporting-company status and $700 million for large accelerated filer status and automatic shelves.
Market-data sites also quote a float in shares, outstanding shares minus insider and restricted holdings, used for turnover and short-interest percentages. The idea is the same, but the numbers differ because they are measured on different dates and by different rules.
Why it matters
Float sets how much a small company can raise off its shelf, and a small float means each new share moves the price more.
How Equity Dictionary measures it
On a company page, public float is float shares × price when those agree with the share count and market cap (and there was no split in the last 60 days), else market cap × (1 − insider ownership), else the latest dei:EntityPublicFloat; the Overview’s profile card shows the SEC filer category it implies. The screener uses dei:EntityPublicFloat and scores cash ÷ public float as 20% of its score.
Related terms
- Baby-shelf rule: The Form S-3 limit that lets a company with less than $75 million of public float sell no more than one-third of that float through its shelf in any 12 months.
- Shelf registration: A registration statement, usually on Form S-3 or F-3, that pre-registers securities so a company can sell them later without a new SEC review each time.
- Market cap vs. enterprise value: Market cap is the stock market value of a company’s shares; enterprise value adds debt and subtracts cash to value the business itself.
- Short interest: The number of a company’s shares that have been sold short and not yet bought back, usually shown as a percentage of the float.
Plain-English summary for research; not legal or investment advice.