Final answer:
A corporation can indeed have issued more shares of stock than are outstanding due to shares being held internally or bought back by the company, which are not considered part of the outstanding shares available for public trading.
Step-by-step explanation:
A corporation may have issued more shares of stock than it has outstanding.
Corporations, entities owned by shareholders with limited liability, can issue stock as a means to raise capital for the company's operations or new investments. A corporation can have more shares issued than outstanding because not all issued shares are necessarily available for trade in the public market at all times. Shares that have been bought back by the company (treasury shares) or are held by insiders and not available for public trade are subtracted from the issued shares, resulting in the number of outstanding shares. Furthermore, the number of issued shares can include both public and private offerings, as well as shares held by company founders or other large shareholders that are not part of the public float. The intricacies of stock issuance are complex and governed by financial regulations, including those outlined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to properly inform shareholders and the public about the company's financial maneuvers.