Guide
What Is the Face Value of a Share?
The face value — or par value — of a share is its nominal accounting value, fixed by the company when the shares are issued. Common face values in India are ₹10, ₹5, ₹2, or ₹1. It is not the price you pay in the market.
Face value vs market price
Market price is what the share trades at on the exchange, driven by supply, demand, and the company's prospects — it changes every second. Face value is a fixed, nominal figure that rarely changes. A stock with a ₹1 face value can easily trade at ₹2,000; the two numbers are unrelated in size.
Why face value matters
- Dividends are sometimes declared as a percentage of face value — a "200% dividend" on a ₹10 face value share is ₹20 per share.
- Stock splits are expressed as a change in face value (e.g. splitting ₹10 into five ₹2 shares).
- Paid-up capital on the balance sheet equals face value × number of shares.
In the data
Face value is part of a company's share-data profile and is used to derive share count and paid-up capital in the financials. It's shown on the stock page and carried in the financials data.