When a company “goes public” it means that it has decided to expand its ownership to include shareholders from the general public. When a company first goes public it’s called an IPO, or initial public offering. Proceeds (or the money raised from the IPO) can be used to fund further growth or to reward original shareholders (a “payout”). When a company is public, it breaks itself up into shares of stock available to be bought and sold by investors. In the U.S. public companies must register with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a government agency that regulates U.S. financial markets.  Public companies are also required to file public financial statements with the SEC every quarter.

This isn’t true for every company, though. Many companies are “privately held,” which means that only a few people own the company and benefit from its success. In other words, if someone has created a great new company and gone public, anyone can invest their money in that company and share in its success (or, let’s be honest: failures). Private companies are not required to disclose financial information to the public.