Institutions’ substantial holdings in C3.ai implies that they have significant influence over the company’s share price
48% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders
Insiders have been selling lately
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To get a sense of who is truly in control of C3.ai, Inc. (NYSE:AI), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share in the company with 51% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).
As a result, institutional investors endured the highest losses last week after market cap fell by US$312m. The recent loss, which adds to a one-year loss of 5.1% for stockholders, may not sit well with this group of investors. Institutions or “liquidity providers” control large sums of money and therefore, these types of investors usually have a lot of influence over stock price movements. As a result, if the decline continues, institutional investors may be pressured to sell C3.ai which might hurt individual investors.
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of C3.ai, beginning with the chart below.
See our latest analysis for C3.ai
NYSE:AI Ownership Breakdown July 28th 2025
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it’s included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
We can see that C3.ai does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company’s stock. 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. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It’s therefore worth looking at C3.ai’s earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.
NYSE:AI Earnings and Revenue Growth July 28th 2025
Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. Hedge funds don’t have many shares in C3.ai. The company’s largest shareholder is The Vanguard Group, Inc., with ownership of 10.0%. In comparison, the second and third largest shareholders hold about 7.9% and 5.4% of the stock. Thomas Siebel, who is the third-largest shareholder, also happens to hold the title of Chairman of the Board.
Story Continues
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.
While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock’s expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.
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.
Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in C3.ai, Inc.. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$295m. Most would see this as a real positive. If you would like to explore the question of insider alignment, you can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.
With a 41% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over C3.ai. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we’ve spotted with C3.ai (including 1 which shouldn’t be ignored) .
Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.
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.
