# What happens when a stock is delisted and comes back?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-stock-is-delisted-and-comes-back/325781>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 11, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-stock-is-delisted-and-comes-back/325781 "2005-10-11T17:29:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-stock-is-delisted-and-comes-back/325781/1 "2005-10-11T17:29:15Z")

</div>

What happens when a stock is delisted?

Lets say I bought 1000 shares in WorldCom at .83 when they were delisted from NASDAQ?

They came out of bankruptcy as MCI and are trading at 25. Did they have an IPO as MCI with a whole new set of shares? Are the original 1000 shares still good?

Let’s say yesterday you bought 1000 shares of Delphi which was suspended at NYSE today. Not yet delisted. If they fold, you might get pennies on the dollar for your shares.

But, let’s say they come out of bankruptcy and the stock starts trading as usual again. Are all the shares still valid?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-stock-is-delisted-and-comes-back/325781/2 "2005-10-11T18:18:30Z")

</div>

Delisting and bankruptcy are two separate issues.

Your stock could be delisted on a given exchange for any number of reasons, be relisted, and you still have your shares. When it gets delisted from the NASDAQ, it probably continues to trade on the OTC BB or pink sheets.

As for ownership following bankruptcy, here’s an old thread on the subject:

> **[Why don't you still own stock when a company emerges from Chapter Eleven...](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=256971)**
>
> I knew several people that owned stock in Conseco when it entered bankruptcy. They were apalled to learn that when the company emerged from bankruptcy that they no longer owned stock in the company. I thought owning stock was like owning a “piece”...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-when-a-stock-is-delisted-and-comes-back/325781/3 "2005-10-11T18:20:10Z")

</div>

Delisting doesn’t mean the company is dissolved or your stock becomes worthless for any other reason. It simply means the stock ceases to be traded at the exchange; shareholders still possess their share in the company as usual. So yes, shares from the time before suspension of trade remain valid.