(Shares Held by Insiders / Total Shares Outstanding) × 100
Insider ownership is the stake held by the people running the company.
What it is
Insider ownership is the portion of a company's stock owned by people closely tied to the business, namely senior executives, board directors, and shareholders who hold a large stake (typically 10% or more). These holders are legally defined as insiders and must report their positions and trades. The figure is usually shown as a percentage of total shares outstanding.
Why it matters
Meaningful insider ownership is often read as alignment, the leadership has its own money at stake alongside outside shareholders. The pitfall is that very high insider control can reduce the influence of public shareholders and concentrate voting power, especially where dual-class share structures exist. It tells you about alignment and control, not whether the stock is cheap.
How it's calculated
Sum the shares held by officers, directors, and 10%-or-greater beneficial owners, divide by total shares outstanding, and multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.
How Quintarthai uses it
Insider holdings and Form 4 / SEDI transactions feed Quinn's insider tracker, with each entry carrying a provenance receipt back to the source filing; start from a company's deep-analysis page.
Cross-border note. US insiders file Form 3/4/5 with SEC EDGAR, while Canadian insiders report through SEDI, and Quintarthai covers both so non-US names are not paywalled.
FAQ
Who counts as an insider?
Generally a company's officers and directors, plus any shareholder who beneficially owns 10% or more of the stock. These parties have legal disclosure obligations.
Does high insider ownership guarantee good performance?
No. It signals that leadership's interests are aligned with shareholders, but it can also entrench control and limit outside influence, so it is one input among many.
Check your understanding
What does a high level of insider ownership primarily tell you about a company?
Meaningful insider ownership signals alignment because leadership has its own money at stake, but very high insider control can entrench voting power; it speaks to alignment and control, not valuation.