American Depositary Receipt
An American depositary receipt is a U.S.-traded certificate representing American depositary shares backed by shares of a non-U.S. company.
ADR, ADS, global registered share, and cross-border equity terms used when companies trade outside their home market.
Depositary Receipts and Cross-Border Shares explains how foreign-company equity trades through receipt programs or directly across markets. The receipt ratio, legal security, depositary agreement, currency, custody chain, and disclosure regime determine what an investor actually owns.
Use this branch when a stock trades through a receipt, bank program, foreign listing, currency conversion, or cross-border settlement structure rather than only as the local ordinary share.
| Term | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Depositary Receipt | Ratios, depositary and custodian roles, sponsored programs, conversion, fees, and holder rights |
| American Depositary Receipt (ADR) | U.S. receipt programs, ADR levels, ADS terminology, disclosure, and trading |
| Global Registered Share (GRS) | One share class registered and traded across multiple markets without a receipt wrapper |
Check the receipt ratio, underlying ordinary share, depositary bank, home market, currency, fees, voting rights, dividend conversion, tax withholding, liquidity, and whether the receipt is sponsored.
This page is educational and does not recommend a specific stock, fund, tax treatment, or account choice.
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An American depositary receipt is a U.S.-traded certificate representing American depositary shares backed by shares of a non-U.S. company.
A depositary receipt represents foreign shares held through a depositary arrangement and trades under the rules of its local market.
A global registered share is a single class of company stock designed to trade across markets while remaining registered on one global shareholder record.