What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

Definition: Additional paid-in capital (APIC) is the amount of money that a company’s shareholders pay for shares in excess of the par value of the shares. In other words, it’s the amount over the par value that investors are willing to pay for the stock. This metric appears on the shareholder’s equity section of the balance sheet.

What is the definition of additional paid-in capital? APIC is any payment received by a firm’s shareholders above the par value of the stock. The par value is usually very low, i.e. at $0.01, so that most of the amount paid in by each investor in excess of this value is recorded as APIC. APIC applies both to common stocks and preferred stocks. To calculate the additional paid-in-capital we need to know the number of shares outstanding, the issue price and the par value.

Let’s look at an example.

Example

Company X is a manufacturing company. The company decides to build a second manufacturing plant by issuing 20,000 shares of new stock at $5 per share. The par value of the stock is $0.01. The company has 552,361 common shares outstanding.

Hence, the additional paid-in capital formula is calculated as follows:

APIC = (Issue price – Par value) x Shares Outstanding = ($5 – $0.01) x 552,361 = $2,755,159.

The company records the capital in excess of par value in the shareholder’s equity section on the balance sheet as follows:

What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

Additional paid-in capital provides an indication on how much money investors are pouring into the company (in this case $2.8 million). Financial analysts keep an eye on shareholder’s equity for capital in excess of par value because it implies the degree of investor confidence as well as how wisely the firm’s management is using this money. Note that additional-paid-in-capital is not traced on the income statement.

Define Additional-Paid-In-Capital: APIC stock means the additional funds paid for a company’s shares over the par value.


What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

  • Accounting & Finance

Guide to Understanding Additional Paid-In Capital (APIC)

What is APIC?

Additional Paid-In Capital (APIC) represents the value received in excess of the par value from issuances of preferred or common shares.

What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

Table of Contents

  • How to Calculate Additional Paid-In Capital (APIC)
  • Additional Paid-In Capital Formula
  • APIC and Stock Price Relationship
  • APIC Calculator – Excel Model Template
  • Additional Paid-In Capital Calculation Example

How to Calculate Additional Paid-In Capital (APIC)

Additional paid-in capital (APIC) represents the excess amount paid in total by investors above the par value of a company’s shares.

Additional paid-in capital (APIC) is the amount that investors are willing to pay over the par value of the company’s shares.

On the balance sheet, APIC is shown separately in the shareholders’ equity section below common stock, with the par value stated near it as reference.

The par value of stock is normally set very low (e.g. $0.01), so the majority of the value received from investors for a capital raise will be recorded in the additional paid-in capital (APIC) account, rather than the common stock account.

APIC is often used interchangeably with several terms, such as:

  • Contributed Surplus
  • Contributed Capital in Excess of Par
  • Capital in Excess of Par Value
  • Paid-In Capital in Excess of Stated Value

When a private company decides to go public in an initial public offering (IPO), its equity is offered to the public for the first time.

As part of the IPO process, the company must set an appropriate price per each share within its charter – and that price is called the “par value” of the shares.

The paid-in capital metric equals the sum of the par value and APIC, meaning APIC is intended to capture the “premium” paid by investors.

Additional Paid-In Capital Formula

Calculating the additional paid-in capital (APIC) is a two-step process:

  1. The par value of the shares is subtracted from the issuance price at which the shares were sold.
  2. The excess of the sale price and par value is then multiplied by the number of shares issued.

The APIC formula is as follows.

Formula
  • APIC = (Issuance Price – Par Value) × Common Shares Outstanding

For purposes of financial modeling, APIC is consolidated with the common stock line item and then projected with a roll-forward schedule.

Roll-Forward Formula
  • Ending APIC = Beginning APIC + Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) + Exercised Stock Options

APIC and Stock Price Relationship

One common misconception is that the sale price on the date of issuance represents the market value of the shares, i.e. the current share price of the company determined by the secondary trading in the open markets.

APIC is instead based on the initial “offering price” of the shares on the date of issuance, such as the date of the IPO or the secondary offering.

To reiterate, the APIC account can only increase if the issuer were to sell more shares to investors, in which the issuance price exceeds the par value of the shares.

So movements in the company’s share price – whether upward or downward – have no effect on the stated APIC amount on the balance sheet because these transactions do not directly involve the issuer.

APIC Calculator – Excel Model Template

We’ll now move to a modeling exercise, which you can access by filling out the form below.

Additional Paid-In Capital Calculation Example

Suppose a private company recently went public via an IPO where its shares were issued at a sale price of $5.00 each at a par value of $0.01 per share.

  • Issuance Price = $5.00
  • Par Value = $0.01

The excess of the issuance price over the stated par value is $4.99.

  • Excess of Stated Par Value = $5.00 – $0.01 = $4.99

If the total number of common shares outstanding is assumed to be 10 million, how much in APIC would be recorded on the balance sheet?

Upon multiplying the excess spread over the stated par value by the number of common shares outstanding, we arrive at an additional paid-in capital (APIC) value of $49.9 million.

  • APIC = $4.99 × 10 million = $49.9 million

What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

What is the excess amount paid by an investor over and above the par value price of a stock to buy it?

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What is paid in excess of par value?

Paid in capital in excess of par is essentially the difference between the fair market value paid for the stock and the stock's par value. In other words, it's the premium paid for an appreciated stock. Paid in capital in excess of par is created when investors pay more for their shares of stock than the par value.

Is the excess amount over par that shareholders pay for stock of a company?

Additional paid-in capital refers to only the amount in excess of a stock's par value. Paid-in capital is reported in the shareholders' equity section of the balance sheet. It is usually split into two different line items: common stock (par value) and additional paid-in capital.

When shares with par value are sold the excess of the proceeds over the par value is credited to?

The account used for the proceeds greater than par value is called "Additional Paid-In-Capital". The common stock account is credited for the amount of par value received. In this example, the company received proceeds of $100,000 (100,000 shares issued at $1/share par value).

What is additional paid in capital in excess of par?

Additional paid-in capital is the amount paid for share capital above its par value. It is also commonly known as the “contributed capital in excess of “par” or “share premium.” Essentially, the additional paid-in capital reveals how much money investors paid for the shares above their nominal value.