“The person who knows the company best” left the market faster: US stock executives cashed out US$77.6 billion in the first half of the year, setting the second-fastest record in more than 20 years

The Zhitong Finance App learned that in the first half of this year, the rate at which US corporate executives reduced their holdings was the second fastest in more than 20 years. For some investors, this is a classic red flag — because it means that those who know the company best are uneasy about the future of the market.

According to EPFR global market intelligence data, in the first half of 2026, US corporate insiders sold a total of 77.6 billion US dollars of stocks, an increase of 20% over the same period last year. This sell-off wave is second only to 2021 — when the market was flooded with capital due to the stimulus policies of the pandemic.

EPFR analyst Winston Chua and his team stated, “Internal trading activity shows that executives are in no hurry to increase their stock holdings at current valuation levels.”

In stark contrast to this, the stock buying behavior of corporate insiders continues to be sluggish. In the first half of the year, they only bought shares worth 6.9 billion US dollars, which is only slightly higher than the seven-year low of 6.7 billion US dollars set in the same period last year.

The EPFR team further stated: “Although the stock market continues to rise, insiders are still reluctant to increase individual stock exposure.”

Since this year, the S&P 500 index has accumulated a cumulative increase of 10%, and is expected to achieve double-digit gains for the fourth year in a row. Recently, however, market sentiment has become cautious: some traders are uneasy that chip stocks are rising too fast and too high, and they are also worried that investment in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector has become excessive. Furthermore, as more and more large AI companies plan to go public, the market is also concerned that a surge in stock supply will put pressure on the stock market.