Paired Shares Explained: How They Work & Real Examples in 2025

Erika Rasure is a globally-recognized expert in consumer economics, a financial therapist, and transformational coach dedicated to empowering women in investment strategies.

What Are Paired Shares?

Paired shares represent the combined stock of two distinct companies overseen by a single management group. These shares are traded publicly as a unified stock, often referred to as "Siamese Shares" or "Stapled Stock." Essentially, investors buy into both companies simultaneously as one investment unit.

How Do Paired Shares Work?

Investing in paired shares means purchasing common stock in two corporations that are intrinsically linked and managed together. Because these companies operate as a single entity on the stock market, you cannot buy shares in one without owning shares in the other. They trade together as a single security.

Typically, one stock certificate represents ownership in both companies, with each company’s stock printed on opposite sides of the certificate. This structure simplifies the ownership process while maintaining the distinct identities of the two businesses.

Usually, one of the paired stocks focuses on generating income through higher dividends, while the other aims for capital growth, offering investors a balanced portfolio within a single share unit.

Key Insights

• Paired shares combine stocks from two separate companies managed by the same corporation.
• They are publicly traded as a single security and sold as one package.
• A single stock certificate commonly represents both companies’ stocks.
• One stock generally provides higher dividends, while the other offers growth potential.

Notable Examples of Paired Shares

Although rare in the U.S. today, paired shares still exist. For instance, Carnival Corporation (CCL) and the former P&O Princess Cruises plc completed a dual-listed company arrangement in 2003. Carnival shares were paired with trust shares representing P&O Princess, allowing shareholders to hold both simultaneously.

Another example is Extended Stay America Inc. (STAY), a budget extended-stay hotel chain. It trades paired shares alongside its hotel owner, REIT ESH Hospitality Inc., both sharing the same ticker symbol. One share of Extended Stay America common stock is paired with one share of ESH Hospitality Class B common stock, trading as a single unit.

History and Evolution of Paired Shares

The paired-share structure was once popular in the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry until the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act ended the tax benefits that supported it. During the 1980s, paired-share REITs allowed property ownership and operations to be split between two companies trading as one, providing tax advantages.

Congress banned the creation of new paired-share REITs in 1984 but grandfathered some existing ones, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Patriot American Hospitality. However, after Starwood’s $14.6 billion acquisition of ITT Corp. in 1998, new legislation closed this loophole. By July 1998, Starwood transitioned from a REIT to a traditional corporation, marking the end of the paired-share era.

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