– *updated September 25, 2023 –
As a company, you have several decisions to make when selecting a secondary trading system for your publicly held securities in North America. First, do you go with a formal exchange or do you choose a quotation system? NYSE, NYSE American, NASDAQGM, NASDAQCM, TSX, TSX Venture, Cboe-Canada, and the CSE are all formal exchanges. The OTCQB, OTQX, and OTC Pink Sheets are all quotation systems.
Another decision is where to list. Some choices will be eliminated based on the fact that your company doesn’t meet the listing requirements of all secondary trading systems. Out of the remaining choices, you will need to decide which market will serve you and your stockholders best. Keep in mind that when looking at these requirements, you can always move to a different trading system as your economic and stockholder needs change.
A master chart summarizing the main North American markets where you may choose to list your company’s securities follows. This chart provides a general overview of the minimum tier requirements for technology and industrial companies listing equity securities. It is important to understand that several of these trading systems have more than one tier or standard with different requirements for each. The TSX Venture Exchange, for instance, has three tiers and different requirements for mining, oil and gas, technology, industrial, and real estate companies, as well as a separate category for their version of blank-check companies (capital pool company). You can access more information about a specific exchange or quotation system by following the page link to our summary of the listing requirements for that exchange or quotation system.
Note: The NYSE requirements in this chart are incomplete as they do not include the financial criteria tests required to be met prior to listing. The standard for listing on the NYSE is much higher than may be presumed from this chart.
Summary of Listing Requirements: Master Chart
| Requirement | NYSE | NYSE American | NASDAQGM | NASDAQCM | TSX | TSX Venture |
Cboe – Canada | CSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Tax Income Last Year | US$2,000,000 (minimum multi-tiered formula) | a. US$750,000 b. N/A c. N/A d. N/A |
a. US$1,000,000 b. N/A c. N/A d. N/A |
a. N/A b. N/A c. US$750,000 |
a. C$300,000 b. C$200,000 c. C$200,000 d. N/A |
Tier 1: C$5,000,000 in NTA; or C$5,000,000 in revenue Tier 2: C$750,000 in NTA; |
a. N/A b. C$750,000 c. N/A |
N/A |
| Two Year Avg Pre-Tax Income | US$2,000,000 (minimum multi-tiered formula) | a. US$750,000 (2 out of 3 years) b. N/A c. N/A d. US$75,000,000 (2 out of 3 years) |
a. US$1,000,000 (2 out of 3 years) b. N/A c. N/A d. N/A |
a. N/A b. N/A c. US$750,000 (2 out of 3 years) |
a. C$500,000 b. C$500,000 c. C$500,000 d. N/A |
Tier 1: C$5,000,000 in NTA; or C$5,000,000 in revenue Tier 2: C$750,000 in NTA; |
N/A | Issuer: N/A
NV Issuer: |
| Net Tangible Assets |
N/A | a. N/A b. N/A c. N/A d. US$75,000,000 (or US$75,000,000 equity market cap.) |
a. N/A b. N/A c. N/A d. US$75,000,000 and US$75,000,000 total revenue |
N/A | a. C$7,500,000 b. C$2,000,000 c. C$75,000,000 d. N/A |
see above | N/A | Issuer: N/A
NV Issuer: |
| Market Value Publicly Held Stock | US$100,000,000 OR US$40,000,000 (if IPO) |
a. US$3,000,000 b. US$15,000,000 c. US$15,000,000 d. US$20,000,000 |
a. US$8,000,000 b. US$18,000,000 c. US$20,000,000 d. US$20,000,000 |
a. US$15,000,000 b. US$15,000,000 c. US$5,000,000 |
C$4 mil. (Ind)
C$10,000,000 (Tech) |
Tier 1: C$100,000
Tier 2: C$50,000 |
a. C$10,000,000 b. C$10,000,000 c. C$10,000,000 |
Issuer: N/A
NV Issuer: |
| # of Shares Publicly Held |
1,100,000 | 500,000 (if 800 public SHs) 1,000,000 (if 400 public SHs)500,000 (if 400 public SHs and daily trading vol. of 2,000 shares recent six months) |
1,100,000 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Tier 1: 1,000,000 or 20% of float
Tier 2: 500,000 or 20% of float |
1,000,000 | Issuer: 1,000,000 or 20% of floatNV Issuer: 1,000,000 |
| # Public Board Lot Holders | a. 400 (US) b. 2,200 (if monthly trading vol. of 100,000 shares recent 6 months) c. 500 (if monthly trading vol. 1,000,000 shares recent 12 months) |
see above | 400 | 300 | 300 | Tier 1: 250Tier 2: 200 | 150 | Issuer: 150
NV Issuer: 300 |
| Trading Price of Listed Securities | US$4.00 | a. US$3.00 b. US$3.00 c. US$2.00 d. US$3.00 |
a. $4.00 | a. US$4.00 bid price, or b. US$2.00 closing price |
No minimum | IPO minimum of C$0.10 per share. | C$2.00 | IPO minimum of C$0.10 per share. Will not list issuer who has issued shares at $0.005 in the previous 24 month period. |
| Public Shareholders Equity |
No, than US$60,000,000 | a. US$4,000,000 b. US$4,000,000 c.US$ 4,000,000 d. N/A |
a. US$15,000,000 b. US$30,000,000 c. N/A d. N/A |
a. US$5,000,000 b. US$4,000,000 c. US$4,000,000 |
C$4,000,000 | Tier 1: $100,000
Tier 2: $50,000Public SHs must hold 20% of issued shares at time of listing, 10% of which is free trading. |
a. C$5,000,000 b. N/A c. CN/A |
Issuer: N/A
NV Issuer: |
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Other Articles You May Find of Interest:
- Listing Requirements of the New York Stock Exchange – September 25, 2023 –
- Listing Requirements of the Toronto Stock Exchange – Industrial, Tech., Research & Dev. Issuers – September 25, 2023 –
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