It is a legal thing, shareholders own the corporation, but not the companies physical assets. So a shareholder couldn’t walk into a business and take something and say “I own this”. They can however vote to close a corporation or fire the board and form a new one.

The shareholders legally are special, but it doesn’t always work in their favor. For instance, they are the last to be paid.

I am no expert, but I have been an Executive Director in the past. I was just talking about the concept, which as you can tell, is pretty complex.