American depositary receipt definition

American depositary receipts (ADRs) are US-listed securities that represent single shares, or specified numbers of shares, in foreign companies.

American depositary receipt definition

American depositary receipts (ADRs) are US-listed securities that represent single shares, or specified numbers of shares, in foreign companies.

ADRs are bought and sold on the US stock markets like regular US shares, trade in US dollars and are settled through US settlement systems. Examples include British bank Barclays (BCS), drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba (BABA).

ADRs are issued by US banks, who buy foreign stocks and then issue ADRs, which can be traded on US exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.

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