A stock (share of stock) whose ownership is not registered in a name. As a bearer security, a bearer stock is negotiable- that is, it can be transferred between owners (bearers or holders) without endorsement. Transfer of ownership (title) can take place without delay and hassle-free as there would be no need for any entries in the issuer’s registers to that effect. Therefore, whoever holds the stock certificate will have full ownership of the share.

Bearer stocks are common in use in European countries. In other countries, like the United States, registered stocks (non-bearer stocks) are popular.