Key Insights

Institutions' substantial holdings in Trip.com Group implies that they have significant influence over the company's share price A total of 13 investors have a majority stake in the company with 51% ownership Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

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If you want to know who really controls Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are institutions with 77% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And as as result, institutional investors reaped the most rewards after the company's stock price gained 4.6% last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 13% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Trip.com Group, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Trip.com Group NasdaqGS:TCOM Ownership Breakdown May 4th 2025

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Trip.com Group?

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.

We can see that Trip.com Group does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. 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. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Trip.com Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.NasdaqGS:TCOM Earnings and Revenue Growth May 4th 2025

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Trip.com Group. Looking at our data, we can see that the largest shareholder is Capital Research and Management Company with 17% of shares outstanding. With 7.0% and 5.1% of the shares outstanding respectively, Baidu, Inc. and BlackRock, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders.

Story Continues

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that 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. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of Trip.com Group

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 most recent data indicates that insiders own some shares in Trip.com Group Limited. The insiders have a meaningful stake worth US$886m. we sometimes take an interest in  whether they have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. 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 7.0% of the Trip.com Group shares on issue. We can't be certain but it is quite possible this is a strategic stake. The businesses may be similar, or work together.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Trip.com Group better, we need to consider many other factors.

I always like to check for a history of revenue growth. You can too, by accessing this free chart of historic revenue and earnings in this detailed graph.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this freereport 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.

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