Aktiengesellschaft is the German public limited company by shares, used by listed corporations and large private groups that need freely transferable equity.
An Aktiengesellschaft (AG) is a German stock corporation governed by the Aktiengesetz (AktG). Shareholders own shares (Aktien) freely transferable in registered or bearer form, and benefit from limited liability. The minimum share capital is 50,000 EUR, divisible into shares of at least 1 EUR par value, with at least 25 percent paid in at registration.
Governance follows a mandatory two-tier model. The management board (Vorstand) runs the business and the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) appoints and oversees it. Companies above 500 or 2,000 employees must include employee representatives on the supervisory board under the Drittelbeteiligungsgesetz or Mitbestimmungsgesetz.
The general meeting (Hauptversammlung) decides major matters such as articles, capital increases, and profit distribution.
The AG is the form used for listings on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the regulated Prime Standard, and the SDAX, MDAX, or DAX indices. Annual reports must comply with the Handelsgesetzbuch and, if listed, with EU prospectus and transparency rules. Mid-sized private groups also use the AG when planning an eventual IPO or when issuing employee shares broadly.
You will meet the AG when researching a listed German company such as Siemens AG or BMW AG, or when joining an unlisted but capital-markets-oriented business preparing for IPO. Founders of operating SMEs almost never start with an AG because of the heavier governance and capital requirements; they start with a GmbH and convert later.
Professional investors expect the two-tier board and prepare due diligence accordingly.
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