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I need advise on how we correctly use the possessive 's (i.e. apostrophe + s) after a full company name with abbreviation.

E.g., will "Company Name ltd." become "Company Name ltd.'s"? Or is it fine if we leave the "Ltd." out, e.g. "Company Name's"?

Joachim
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Ivan Slaughter
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  • Related: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/232796/guidelines-for-adding-s-after-name-of-company-ending-in-s – Gio Nov 15 '22 at 09:46
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    “Company Name's” is common used. Amazon’s assets. Apple’s strategy etc. – Gio Nov 15 '22 at 09:47
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    There's no need to add Ltd or its equivalents every time you mention the company's name. – Kate Bunting Nov 15 '22 at 10:00
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    In what kind of context? Is it a press-release? Or some internal mojo? Or some legalistic document? – m.a.a. Nov 15 '22 at 10:06
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    We can and do sometimes extend the "name" to which possessive 's is to be attached, especially in informal spoken contexts. It might not look great orthographically, but *My cousin in London's wife died recently* certainly wouldn't sound "odd" to me. – FumbleFingers Nov 15 '22 at 12:10
  • One word: reword. I'd go with My cousin in London recently lost his wife. – Yosef Baskin Nov 15 '22 at 20:02

2 Answers2

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A couple of examples from Google

Jigsaw Homes Group Ltd.'s Sustainable Finance Framework https://www.spglobal.com › research › pdf-articles › 22... S&P Global Ratings said that Jigsaw Homes Group Ltd.'s Sustainable Finance Framework is aligned with the: Green Bond Principles (GBP); Green Loan Principles ...

Here's What Frontline Ltd.'s (NYSE:FRO) Shareholder Ownership Structure Looks Like · What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About ...

and

Investigation into UK Energy Incubator Hub Ltd's compliance ...https://www.ofgem.gov.uk › publications › investigatio... 28 Jul 2022 — See our investigation into UK Energy Incubator Hub Ltd's compliance with multiple licence conditions.

Parasol Homes Ltd's grading under review - GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk › ... › Housing regulation 4 Nov 2021 — Parasol Homes Ltd's grading under review. Providers being investigated for an issue regarding their compliance with the Governance and ...

You pays your money and you takes your choice...

Greybeard
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    This does show that an apostrophe can be attached to Ltd in this way, but in so far as the OP is seeking practical advice on how to deal with such names, the most important response to the question is the one given by Ms. Bunting in a comment: 'There's no need to add Ltd or its equivalents every time you mention the company's name'. In an article about a business one may, perhaps, state its full name the first time it is referred to (although even that may be unnecessary if it is well known), and then use some short form of it afterwards. – jsw29 Nov 15 '22 at 16:28
  • You can find almost anything online, doesn't mean it's a good idea though. – Stuart F Nov 15 '22 at 22:37
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    @jsw29 It is useful in contracts and other important documents to distinguish between the owner John Smith and the entity John Smith Ltd. – Greybeard Nov 16 '22 at 00:10
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    @StuartF, I'm not sure poisoning the well is valid. The point is that both are used, hence the final line. – Greybeard Nov 16 '22 at 00:12
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    Not everything online is done by a competent English speaker/writer. There are a lot of auto-translated and auto-generated texts, as well as texts written by people of different degrees of proficiency. If you're going to accept every string of characters on the basis that it probably occurs somewhere, then questions like this are meaningless. – Stuart F Dec 15 '22 at 13:19
  • @StuartF Not everything online is done by a competent English speaker/writer. this may be true, but the question you have not addressed in this case is "How do we know which is correct?" – Greybeard Dec 16 '22 at 11:41
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E.g., will "Company Name ltd." become "Company Name ltd.'s"?

Yes, when a proper noun consists of multiple words, the convention is to add the possessive clitic to the last word. CMOS gives the examples doctor of philosophy's and the mayor of Chicago's (14th edition, section 6.22). There is no exception for company names or abbreviations such as "ltd." (By the way, "ltd" would usually begin with a capital letter in a company name.)

Or is it fine if we leave the "Ltd." out, e.g. "Company Name's"?

Yes, it is very common to drop "Ltd." and similar parts of company names when they are not needed. For example:

By denying to hear Tesla’s appeal, the state Supreme Court allowed that lawsuit to proceed. (Melody Petersen, "State agency asks court to order Tesla to cooperate in discrimination investigation," Los Angeles Times, 13 April 2023)

(The company's full name is Tesla, Inc.)

MarcInManhattan
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