How to Track a Stock Split After It Closes

How to track a stock split is the angel or VC ledger you keep after a private company closes a forward split or reverse split: approval date, ratio copied from the charter amendment, old outstanding versus new, preferred conversion price before versus after, option exercise price and pool restatement, cost basis per share after the split, and a flag for reverse. It is not a public-markets explainer. It is distinct from Raziel's anti-dilution tracking page (price-based Conversion Price cuts on cheap issuances) and from option pool refresh tracking (later pool top-ups). A split is a recapitalization of outstanding shares, not a new round.

This is not legal, tax, or investment advice. Raziel does not provide it. Copy the board or stockholder approval, the filed charter amendment, and the post-split cap table. Do not invent ratios, share counts, or prices.

What a private-company split is (and is not)

Carta Support: a stock split is a change in the capitalization of an issuer that increases or decreases the number of securities outstanding, and adjusts the value of the securities accordingly, without a corresponding change in the assets or capital of the issuer. Forward increases share count and decreases price per share proportionally. Reverse decreases share count and increases price per share proportionally.

Pulley (Yin Wu): stock splits increase the share count but lower the stock value; ownership stake stays the same. Pulley's two-for-one illustration shows a $100 share becoming two $50 shares with value and voting power unchanged. That is Pulley's illustration, not a number from your deal. Pulley Help Center (July 21, 2025): recording a stock split updates the share class authorized amount and all associated securities by the ratio, stores the event as an Amendment on the share class, and cannot be undone once reflected. The NVCA Model Legal Documents (Certificate of Incorporation updated October 2025) are the industry-embraced model set for venture financings. They are a starting point only. Store the amendment your company actually filed.

Seven columns on one closed-split row

Open one row per issuer after the split closes. Copy each field from the closing pack or charter amendment. If a field is missing, store that it was missing.

• Approval date (board and stockholder). Log the board consent date and any stockholder approval date printed on the papers. Partial approval is not a closed split.

• Split ratio. Copy the ratio exactly as printed on the charter amendment (for example, 2-for-1). Do not invent a ratio from a deck or email.

• Old outstanding versus new outstanding. Copy both counts from the pre-split and post-split cap tables for each class you hold.

• Conversion price before versus after (preferred). NVCA Model COI Section 4.5: if the Corporation subdivides outstanding Common Stock, the Conversion Price of each Preferred series in effect immediately before that subdivision is proportionately decreased so that Common issuable on conversion of each Preferred share increases in proportion; if the Corporation combines outstanding Common, the Conversion Price is proportionately increased. The adjustment becomes effective at the close of business on the date the subdivision or combination becomes effective. Cooley CapitalXchange (July 24, 2023): conversion rate or price adjustments commonly include formulas for stock splits, stock dividends, recapitalizations, reclassifications, and subdivisions. Log Conversion Price before and after. Do not invent the post-split number.

• Option exercise price and pool share restatement. Pulley Help: recording the split updates associated securities by the ratio. Log old and new exercise prices and restated pool share counts from the plan or cap table. This is a restatement of existing awards and reserved shares, not a later pool refresh.

• Cost basis per share after the split. IRS FAQs (stocks, options, splits, traders; page last reviewed or updated December 4, 2025): stock splits do not create a taxable event; overall basis does not change; per-share basis does. Allocate the adjusted basis of the old stock across the post-split shares (lot by lot if lots differ). Point your row at that IRS page. Informational only, not tax advice.

• Whether it is a reverse split. Flag reverse when the amendment consolidates shares (fewer shares, higher per-share price). Use Carta's forward-versus-reverse labels; do not invent them.

Split versus anti-dilution versus pool refresh

NVCA's model COI also adjusts Conversion Price for diluting issuances under Section 4.4 when Additional Shares of Common Stock issue below the then Conversion Price. That is price-based anti-dilution on a new cheap issuance. A Section 4.5 split or combination is a proportional recapitalization of shares already outstanding. Keep those rows separate. A later board-approved pool increase after a financing is a refresh, not a split restatement.

When the ledger holds

The row holds if approval dates come from the board and stockholder paper, the ratio is copied from the charter amendment, old and new outstanding counts match the pre- and post-split cap tables, Conversion Price before and after match the COI adjustment that closed, option exercise prices and pool shares are restated from the plan or ledger, cost basis per share is recalculated from your own lots with a pointer to the IRS FAQ, and reverse is flagged when the amendment consolidates. It fails when you invent a ratio, paste a public ticker split as if it were private, collapse the event into anti-dilution, or treat a pool top-up as the same row. Raziel's startup investment tracker is the book those preferred rows already sit on: cash dates, documents, cap tables, IRR and MOIC. Raziel does not interpret your charter amendment and does not give tax or investment advice. Copy the seven columns. Leave the share math to the amendment and the cap table.