How does one calculate the par value of issued shares for financial reporting purposes?
You need two numbers to calculate a company's par value of issued shares:
- The par value per share
- The number of shares that have been issued.
The par value of common stock for the company is simply:
Par value of common stock = (Par value per share) * (Number of issued shares)
The par value of issued shares often appears on the balance sheet as a line item named "common stock." (Your broker may be able to help you find this data -- if you need to get started with a broker, head over to our Broker Center.)
This is the stockholders' equity section of AT&T's 2014 year-end balance sheet:
Par value of common stock = $1 x 6,495,231,088 = $6,495,231,088
On AT&T's balance sheet, that number shows up as 6,495 because all figures are expressed in millions of dollars.