Looking at a broad overview of stocks, and one can see two main types: preferred and common stock. Now, the main difference between the two is that preferred stocks are more restrictive to the shareholder, and the company does not take their vote for changes in the company; in other words, they do not have voting power. As you may have guessed it, shareholders of the common stock do have the ability to vote on certain changes within a company, be it a change in management or general policy. Another big difference is that those who own preferred stocks are given, well, priority over the common shares, meaning they get higher dividend yields from the company. This is an important thing to note as it shows that both seem to have positives and negatives, and as a potential buyer, you might need to see which one is best for you.