A company whose shares trade on an exchange or over-the-counter (OTC), being available for any investor to buy or sell in the open market. Any investor can become an owner by purchasing its stock from the market. A public company first issues its stock in the primary market (first time issue) which then become tradable on the secondary market amongst investors (shareholders) without any direct intervention by the issuer.

Public companies are subject to reporting requirements and must file a set of reports on a regular basis (annual, quarterly, and current), with the an exchange commission. A company becomes as such if it issues its share via an initial public offering (IPO) or by registering a class of securities with an exchange commission (if certain requirements are met, principally relating to its size or market capitalization).

A public company can be listed on a stock exchange (listed company), which makes its share widely tradable, or not (unlisted public company).

It is also known as a publicly traded company or a reporting company.