Carrying out an economic activity jointly in the form of a company is aimed at making a profit (objective profit) subsequently to be shared among the shareholders (subjective profit). The companies that pursue this aim are called profit-making companies (partnerships and companies with share capital).
There are however other types of companies (cooperatives) which by law pursue a mutual aim that is different from profit-making.
Their typical aim is to provide the members with direct advantages that depending on the field of activity of the cooperative, may either be savings on purchases or a higher fee for services offered by the members of the cooperative.