What is inventory?

The word inventory doesn't have the same meaning in the USA and in the UK: In American English and in a business accounting context, the word inventory is commonly used to describe the goods and materials that a business holds for the ultimate purpose of resale (or repair).
In American English, the word stock is commonly used to describe the capital invested in a business, while in British English, the sentence stock shared is used in the same context.
In the rest of the English speaking world stock is more commonly used, although the word inventory is recognised as a synonym.
In British English, the word inventory is more commonly thought of as a list compiled for some formal purpose, such as the details of an estate going to probate, or the contents of a house let furnished.