Float
The number of a company's shares available to trade publicly, excluding restricted holdings such as insider stakes.
Float is the number of shares available for public trading. It excludes shares held by insiders, large strategic holders and certain restricted or locked-up shares. Float is often much smaller than shares outstanding, and it matters for liquidity and index weighting.
On our site, float is shown next to shares outstanding. A low float relative to volume can mean the stock is prone to large moves.
Traders care because a small float can make a stock volatile and easier to squeeze. Index providers also use float-adjusted weights, so changes in float affect index demand.
Worked example (illustrative numbers, not real data): a company has 100 million shares outstanding, but insiders and a strategic investor hold 60 million. The float is 40 million. Daily volume of 2 million shares is 5 percent of float, which is high turnover.