They’re actually known for paying sky-high dividends—and those dividends can’t be cut unless the company first hacks common shares’ payouts, hence their “preferred” status.

Medallion Financial Corp.'s 9% preferred shares offer high yield but pose credit risk and high leverage concerns. Click for ...

The biggest safeguard for preferred stockholders is that if a company suspends its preferred stock dividend, it must also stop paying dividends to common stockholders.

Owning a company's bond gives you claims to assets superior to preferred stock. And companies must continue paying interest on bonds, while they can suspend paying dividends on preferred stock.

Preferred stock is a class of shares above common stock that has some of the benefits of debt with the company ownership of stock. Learn more about how preferred stock works.

Preferred stock is a class of ownership with a higher claim on a company's assets and earnings than common stock, although it does not come with voting rights.

The preferred shares have no maturity; investors could receive dividends indefinitely. However, the tech company is not required to pay dividends each quarter.

Noncumulative preferred stocks do not have the requirement to pay dividends that are in arrears. If a dividend is missed, it is simply skipped, and shareholders have no claim on it in the future.

Thinking of adding preferred stock to your portfolio? Read on for a breakdown of the pros and cons to buying preferred shares.

What Is Preferred Stock and How Does It Differ From Common Stock? Preferred stock is a unique type of equity that grants shareholders priority over common ...

With non-cumulative preferred shares, if the company is unable to pay dividends, they will not accrue, and the shareholder may never get them (in this way, they are more similar to common stocks).