Woundedknees,

'Just happened to look at share count(using rbc) and noticed they have a section called floating shares, in which they number 155,526,000. This is roughly 9 mil less than the actual share count of 164,420,000. Anyone want to explain the floating term? tia.'

Shares outstanding are the total number of shares issued by a corporation. Float is the percentage of those shares that is in the hands of investors and can be freely traded. Comparing the two can give you valuable clues about a stock’s potential performance and help you select the best trading candidates. (credit Zacks web site)

The balance are normally the treasury shares that are held in the company books.

MS