Shares of a publicly held company that are tradable by public investors (outsiders). In other words, it represents the number of outstanding shares a company has issued for public trading. Typically, this excludes shares held by insiders such as officers, directors, and other affiliates. The size of a float determines stock price volatility: for small floats, stock prices tend to be volatile (since a single large transaction could have a significant impact on the rest of outstanding shares and therefore the price of these shares. For large floats, stock prices tend to be less volatile and more stable.