In addition to borrowing money from creditors, a corporation may issue shares
of stock to investors in exchange for cash. The dollar amount paid to a corporation
for these shares is termed common stock and represents the basic ownership interest in
a corporation. As of September 29, 2007, Apple had issued 872,328,972 shares of
common stock. The corporation is not obligated to repay the stockholder the
amount invested; however, many corporations distribute a portion of their earnings
to stockholders on a regular basis. These distributions are called dividends.