Function

• To be listed on the NYSE, a company has to meet a list of criteria concerning number of stockholders, revenues, profitability and market capitalization. The listing rules give a company several options to measure the company value for listing purposes. Depending on the industry they are in, different companies will have different market capitalization in relation to sales and profitability.
  
  

Basic Requirements

• Before looking at the market capitalization requirements for NYSE listings, companies must meet some minimum requirements for shareholders and shares. The company must have at least 400 U.S. shareholders or 5,000 worldwide. There must be at least 1.1 million shares in public hands in the United States or 2.5 million shares held by investors globally. The value of the shares held by non-insider investors must be at least $100 million unless the company is a spin off of a NYSE-listed company--in which case, $40 million is the minimum. The share price must be trading for $4 or more.
  
  

Considerations

• For a NYSE listing, companies can meet the capitalization or financial requirements in several ways. The first option allows a company with significant net income over the last three years to qualify only on the amount of income. The company must have earned either $10 million or $12 million over the three years plus profitability standards for the intervening years. A company can also be listed if it has a market capitalization of $500 million, annual revenues of $100 million and positive cash flow of at least $25 million per year. A third option allows listing with a market cap of $750 million and at least $75 million in revenues.
  
  

Alternatives

• There are some other capitalization paths a company can take to be listed on the NYSE. A company with at least $75 million in assets and $50 million in shareholder equity can list if it has a market capitalization of $150 million. Companies affiliated with existing NYSE-listed stocks can list with a $500 million market cap and a one-year operating history. REITs and funds can list on the exchange with $60 million of shareholder equity.
  
  

Significance

• The market capitalization required to list on the NYSE is a function of the profitability and viability of the company. Companies that are strongly profitable are not restricted to any market cap requirement. Companies that do not yet generate much in the way of revenues or profits will need to have a market capitalization of $750 million to meet NYSE listing requirements.