Who owns this company? How to read a shareholding pattern

Riya's mum owns 200 Sameer Chai shares. Over Sunday lunch she asked a simple question: "Who owns the rest?" Riya didn't have the answer to hand. On Monday she pulls up the company's latest shareholding pattern and calls Sameer over.

Where to find it, and when

Under Regulation 31 of SEBI's listing rules (LODR), a listed company files its shareholding pattern with the stock exchanges:

• one day before its shares list,
• every quarter, within 21 days of the quarter's end,
• and within 10 days of any change in its capital of more than 2%.

So the pattern for 31 March 2026 was due by 21 April 2026. You'll find it on the NSE and BSE pages for the company, and often on the company's own website. Companies on the SME platform file it every half year instead.

The layout is set by SEBI, so every company's looks the same. There's a summary, then the promoter group in detail, then the public, then a small group that's neither (such as shares held by an employee trust). Here's our summary:

Now the five checks.

Check 1. How much does the promoter hold?

The person in control

What to look at: the promoter and promoter group total.

Sameer holds 3 crore of the 5 crore shares: 60%. At ₹54 a share, that's ₹162 crore of his own wealth tied to the company's fortunes. That's what investors call "skin in the game".

What it tells you: a large promoter stake means the founder wins and loses with every other shareholder. It also gives the promoter a strong say in every shareholder vote. A very small stake raises the opposite question: who's really steering?

One rule worth knowing: every promoter and promoter group share must be held in demat form, all the time. You won't find promoter shares sitting in old paper certificates.

Check 2. Has the promoter pledged shares?

The check people skip and shouldn't

What to look at: the column for shares "pledged or otherwise encumbered" in the promoter table. A pledge means the shares have been handed to a lender as security for a loan.

Sameer has pledged 30 lakh shares for a personal loan. Work it out two ways:

• As a share of his holding: 30 lakh ÷ 3 crore = 10%.
• As a share of the company: 30 lakh ÷ 5 crore = 6%.

At ₹54, the pledged shares are worth ₹16.2 crore.

What it tells you: if the share price falls far enough, the lender can ask for more security or sell the pledged shares. A sudden sale like that can push the price down further. So the size of the pledge matters more than the fact of it.

SEBI's disclosure format for pledges flags two lines: whether the pledged shares are 50% or more of the promoter's own holding, or 20% or more of the company's share capital. In 2019 SEBI made these the points at which a promoter had to explain in detail why he had pledged, and its current format still asks the question. Sameer, at 10% and 6%, is well below both.

Two more places pledges show up. Under SEBI's takeover rules, a promoter must report a pledge, and any release or sale of it, within seven working days, unless the pledge is made through the depository system. Since July 2022 every pledge must be recorded there, with the lender and the reason, and the exchanges publish it automatically. And every year, within seven working days of 31 March, each promoter declares to the exchanges and the audit committee that there are no other pledges beyond those disclosed.

Check 3. Is at least 25% with the public?

The free float

What to look at: the total public shareholding.

Ours is 40%: 2 crore shares. The rule (Rule 19A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules) says every listed company must keep at least 25% of its shares with the public. If it falls below, the company has 12 months to bring it back up. Some very large companies that have just listed are given longer to reach 25% the first time. Once they reach it, they must stay there.

What it tells you: the public's share is roughly the "free float", the shares that can actually trade. Value it at the market price: 2 crore × ₹54 = ₹108 crore. The whole company's market cap is 5 crore × ₹54 = ₹270 crore. Index makers and big funds care about the ₹108 crore, because that's what they could actually buy.

A company sitting near 25% has less room: if the promoter buys more, it has to sell shares to the public again within a year.

Check 4. Who exactly is "the public"?

Institutions or individuals

What to look at: the public table, which splits institutions (mutual funds, insurers, banks, foreign portfolio investors and others) from non-institutions (individuals, companies, NRIs and others).

Our 40% public breaks down like this:

The format splits individuals again, into those holding shares with a face value up to ₹2 lakh and those above it. With our ₹10 face value, ₹2 lakh is 20,000 shares. Riya's mum, with 200 shares (₹2,000 of face value), is in the smaller group, along with most retail investors.

What it tells you: institutions have research teams and vote in big blocks, and when they sell, they sell a lot at once. A float held mostly by individuals tends to be spread thinly across many people. Neither is good or bad. It tells you who's on the other side of the trade. The format also names every holder with 1% or more of the company, so you can see which funds are on the list.

Check 5. What changed since last quarter?

One table is a photo. Four are a film.

What to look at: the same table for the last four quarters, side by side. Exchange websites keep the old ones.

Since our IPO in October 2023, Sameer's stake has stayed at 60%. The questions to ask of any company are:

• Is the promoter's stake falling? Then ask why before you assume the worst. A fall can mean the promoter is selling. It can also mean the company issued new shares. Take one of the "what if" plans on our table: a ₹50 crore QIP at about ₹52 a share would mean about 96 lakh new shares (50 ÷ 52). With 5.96 crore shares in all, Sameer's 3 crore would be about 50.3%. Not one share sold, ten points lower.
• Are mutual funds and foreign investors adding or trimming? Several quarters in one direction says more than one quarter does.
• Is the pledged number rising? A growing pledge alongside a falling share price is the pairing investors watch most closely.

A capital change of more than 2%, like that QIP, would also trigger a fresh shareholding pattern within 10 days, so you wouldn't have to wait for the quarter's end to see it.