Significant control over JB Hi-Fi by retail investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
43% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
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If you want to know who really controls JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX:JBH), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 53% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
While institutions, who own 46% shares weren’t spared from last week’s AU$359m market cap drop, retail investors as a group suffered the maximum losses
In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of JB Hi-Fi.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About JB Hi-Fi?
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in JB Hi-Fi. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of JB Hi-Fi, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
ASX:JBH Earnings and Revenue Growth April 5th 2025
We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in JB Hi-Fi. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Australian Super Pty Ltd with 15% of shares outstanding. With 6.9% and 6.0% of the shares outstanding respectively, State Street Global Advisors, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.
A deeper look at our ownership data shows that the top 25 shareholders collectively hold less than half of the register, suggesting a large group of small holders where no single shareholder has a majority.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
Insider Ownership Of JB Hi-Fi
While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our information suggests that JB Hi-Fi Limited insiders own under 1% of the company. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around AU$34m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see board members owning shares, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.
General Public Ownership
The general public -- including retail investors -- own 53% of JB Hi-Fi. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
