Accounting

No, the rights of the stockholders to the assets of a company are not ranked ahead of the creditors' rights to the assets. Stockholders are the residual owners of a company, meaning they are entitled to any remaining funds after creditors have been paid. They may also be entitled to dividends or other distribution of profits that a company pays out to shareholders, but these payments are usually only done after creditors have been paid in full. Therefore, creditors have a higher ranking in the liquidation process than stockholders.