Who owns Apple? The question of ownership of the world’s most valuable company hides a complex answer that tells another story of its own: the evolution of modern technological capitalism.
Apple is fragmented into more than 15 billion shares among millions of investors. But three passive managers control a fifth of the company. A very important concentration of power.
These big three are not Carl Icahn-style activist capitalists. They are passive managers that replicate stock market indices.
In figures. The three passive management giants that dominate Apple:
- Vanguard Group: 8.91% ($334 billion)
- BlackRock: 7.23% ($271 billion)
- State Street: 3.86% ($144 billion)
Only between these three do they control 20% of Apple’s shares.
The paradox. These new “owners” are not seeking to control Apple. They are passive managers that replicate stock indices automatically. The more Apple grows, the more shares they should Buy. It is a circle that feeds itself.
Apple’s internal power lies in its insiders:
- Arthur Levinson (Chairman): 4.21 million shares
- Tim Cook (CEO): 3.28 million shares
- Jeff Williams (COO): 490,000 shares
- Katherine Adams (Director): 179,000 shares
But among all the insiders They only accumulate 2.06% of Apple’s shares.
Recent movements. The purchase and sale movements of these insiders They are public. That’s why we know some of the most recent ones:
These stock sales are not necessarily a red flag. Many executives receive shares as part of their compensation and sell them to diversify. It is more striking when sales occur almost synchronously and in high volume.
In perspective. This is a symptom of how the corporate ownership model of large technology companies has been changing, especially as their relevance and market capitalization have increased.
They increasingly belong less to a visionary tycoon and more to algorithms that replicate indices with no interest in making decisions about the future of the company. They prioritize stability over disruption (something that contextualizes current Apple well).
- This means less pressure for Apple in the face of drastic changes, and autonomy for executive management…
- …but also a possible inertia of algorithms to amplify market trends.
Formal power and real power – ownership vs. management – are quite separate in the case of Apple. And that translates into greater autonomy for Apple.
In WorldOfSoftware | Apple’s metamorphosis: from minimalist catalog to calculated maximalism
Featured image | Apple
