Typically, the most preferred tier of classified stock, offering more voting rights than Class B Shares. Class A shares are designed to insulate management from the short-term swings of Wall Street, by allowing those in management to control a small amount of the equity of the company but still maintain voting power. These types of shares are not sold to the public and cannot be traded, which supporters of the dual-share system say allows management to focus on long-term goals. In some cases, a company will designate shares to be Class A shares even though they have less voting rights, and designate the shares with more voting rights to be Class B shares; the decision is left up to the individual company.

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