American Depositary Receipts (ADRs)
Negotiable certificates, issued by U.S. banks and traded in U.S. markets in dollars, that represent shares of a foreign company held on deposit overseas — the standard way U.S. investors buy foreign equities.
The depositary bank holds the underlying foreign shares and issues the receipts, handling dividend conversion and corporate actions. ADRs trade and settle like domestic stock, which removes the mechanics — but not the risks — of investing abroad.