American depositary receipts (ADRs) are depositary receipts issued by US banks and evidencing ownership of shares in non-US companies. An ADR can relate to one or more shares or to a fraction of a share. ADRs are issued in the United States and are traded worldwide in place of the original shares. Their European equivalents are known as GDRs (global depositary receipts).The underlyings for ADRs are American depositary shares (ADSs), which represent the shares deposited.