A company is a legal entity representing an association of individuals or juridical persons united with a common purpose to achieve specific goals. Over time, these entities evolved to feature crucial characteristics like separate legal personality, limited liability, and transferable shares, often granted through state incorporation. Companies adopt various forms, ranging from non-profit organizations and educational institutions to profit-generating business entities, and are frequently conceptualized as an "artificial person" with perpetual succession.

The term "company" has roots in the Old French "compagnie" (society), and its specific usage to mean "business association" was first recorded in 1553, with the abbreviation "co." appearing by 1769. While company structures vary widely across the globe, as seen in the diverse forms in South Africa or Brazil, the United States notably defines a company very broadly, emphasizing that it is not necessarily a corporation and can encompass various organized groups, incorporated or not.