a negotiable certificate that usually represents a foreign company's publicly traded equity or debt

a negotiable security which represents the underlying securities (generally equity shares) of a non-U

a security that is offered as a "tracking stock" on another foreign market

A certificate that shows you own shares that have been deposited with a financial institution, usually a major bank. This is the way US investors commonly buy and sell foreign, non-US shares. American depository receipts (ADRs) allow companies to gain access to US investors without going to the expense of listing on one of the US stock exchanges.