Stock Market SEO Exchange Definition

Seasonal Equity Offering

In reference to the stock market, SEO stands for "seasoned or secondary equity offering." A seasoned equity offering is "the sale of additional shares by a company whose shares are already publicly traded." A SEO is also known as secondary market offering.

Exchange

An exchange is "a marketplace in which securities, commodities, derivatives and other financial instruments are traded." The purpose of an exchange is to provide a place for public trading and accurate price information on securities being traded. Exchanges "give companies, governments and other groups a platform to sell securities to the investing public."

Process

An SEO is a registered offering of a large portion of a security that was previously issued to the public for sale. These may have been held by large investors or institutions. The proceeds of the sale go to those holders, not the company issuing them.

Secondary Market

An SEO is an offering on the secondary market, not the primary market. A secondary market is where investors buy securities from other investors, rather than from the companies that issue those securities. The New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange are secondary markets.

References

• Vernimmen Finance Dictionary: Secondary equity offering
• Investopedia: Terms - Exchange
• FINRA: Glossary

Resources

• Secondary Market Resources