Treasury Stock Legal Meaning and Definition

Here is a simplified definition of the legal term Treasury Stock.

Treasury Stock (noun): This refers to shares that were originally issued by a company, but have since been bought back by that same company. The purpose of these shares is generally to decrease the amount of available stock on the market. Treasury stock does not offer dividends nor voting rights to the company that holds them. On a balance sheet, they are shown as a deduction from the actual shareholders' equity. In the context of the United Kingdom, this term can refer to government bonds and gilts, known there as debt stocks.