In the event of bankruptcy, owners of joint-stock companies lose

A joint-stock company (also known as a limited liability company) is a business organization where ownership is divided into shares held by shareholders. A defining legal feature of such companies is limited liability.

Limited liability means that in the event of bankruptcy, the shareholders' personal assets are protected. Each shareholder can lose only the capital invested in the company - that is, the amount they paid for their shares. Creditors of the company cannot pursue shareholders' private properties, personal savings, or other assets beyond their shareholding to recover debts.

This is a fundamental distinction from business forms like sole proprietorships and general partnerships, where the owners have unlimited liability and may lose their private properties to settle business debts.

The other options are incorrect:

• Losing private properties applies to unlimited liability businesses.
• Losing only dividends is not a recognized legal consequence of bankruptcy.
• Losing both company and private assets also describes unlimited liability, not the limited liability protection that joint-stock companies provide.