WEBULL

public companies who own 45% along with institutions invested in iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw increase in their holdings value last week

Simply Wall St · 06/28 12:11

Key Insights

  • Significant control over iQIYI by public companies implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions
  • 50% of the business is held by the top 2 shareholders
  • 30% of iQIYI is held by Institutions

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Every investor in iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are public companies with 45% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

While public companies were the group that reaped the most benefits after last week’s 4.1% price gain, institutions also received a 30% cut.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about iQIYI.

See our latest analysis for iQIYI

ownership-breakdown
NasdaqGS:IQ Ownership Breakdown June 28th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About iQIYI?

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 iQIYI. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 iQIYI's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters.

earnings-and-revenue-growth
NasdaqGS:IQ Earnings and Revenue Growth June 28th 2025

We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in iQIYI. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Baidu, Inc. with 45% of shares outstanding. With 4.8% and 2.8% of the shares outstanding respectively, Best Ventures Limited and Krane Funds Advisors, LLC are the second and third largest shareholders.

A more detailed study of the shareholder registry showed us that 2 of the top shareholders have a considerable amount of ownership in the company, via their 50% stake.

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 iQIYI

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.

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 iQIYI, Inc. 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 US$2.1m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 25% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over iQIYI. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.

Public Company Ownership

We can see that public companies hold 45% of the iQIYI shares on issue. It's hard to say for sure but this suggests they have entwined business interests. This might be a strategic stake, so it's worth watching this space for changes in ownership.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand iQIYI better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with iQIYI (at least 1 which can't be ignored) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

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.