BlackRock and Vanguard Ownership: Why Their Names Turn Up in Nearly Every Big US Company
BlackRock or a Vanguard unit has reported stakes of 5% or more in 95 of the 100 largest US companies, in SEC filings on record on October 30, 2026. Vanguard’s filings all date from 2026. The shares are held for funds and clients, and both firms’ figures show most of that money voting under the managers’ or funds’ policies.
The short answer. BlackRock and Vanguard manage trillions in index funds, which hold the companies on a list, and in client accounts. In StockTitan’s count, one of them is at 5% or more in 95 of the 100 largest US companies. That matters even to people who own no stock, because those shares vote on who sits on the boards of the biggest US companies and have a say on how their bosses are paid. Of the money whose investors may pick their own voting policy, about 23% is committed to BlackRock’s program and about 4% takes part in Vanguard’s. The filings also show that most of BlackRock’s big stakes in the top 100 were last reported in 2024, and that Vanguard now reports through two units.
BlackRock and Vanguard in SEC ownership filings
On this page
- BlackRock and Vanguard ownership in the biggest US companies
- Why do BlackRock and Vanguard own so many companies?
- Does BlackRock own Sprouts?
- Do BlackRock and Vanguard control the companies they own?
- Why does Vanguard appear under two names in SEC filings?
- How to check who owns a stock
- Who owns BlackRock and who owns Vanguard?
- Frequently asked questions
BlackRock and Vanguard ownership in the biggest US companies
Among the 100 biggest US companies by market value, the total worth of their shares, only five have no 5% filing on record from either firm. These are the latest stakes each firm reported, so they are not a same-day snapshot. Vanguard’s all date from 2026, but most of BlackRock’s date from 2024.
The filing that shows a big holder is the Schedule 13G. Under the rules of the SEC, the US markets regulator, an investor that owns more than 5% of a company’s shares has to report it in public. A holder with no aim of influencing control files this short form. Here a 5% stake means 5% or more, as the filings round it.
On the latest 13G each firm had on record on October 30, 2026, BlackRock shows a 5% stake at 93 of the 100 largest US companies, and Vanguard at 95.
For 73 of BlackRock’s 93, the newest filing dates from 2024. A 13G holder files again after a material change, so our reading is that these stakes moved too little to need a new one.
Show the data
| Part | Value | Squares |
|---|---|---|
| Both at 5% or more | 93 | 93 |
| Vanguard only at 5% or more | 2 | 2 |
| Neither at 5% or more | 5 | 5 |
The five without either are SpaceX, Walmart, Oracle, Southern Copper and T-Mobile US. No 5% filing from either firm does not mean their funds and clients own no shares. Walmart and Oracle, for example, had a Vanguard Group 5% filing on record until its 0% filing in March 2026. Since a January 12, 2026 realignment, Vanguard reports through two units, Vanguard Capital Management and Vanguard Portfolio Management, each counting only its own stake.
Tesla comes close to the list of gaps. BlackRock’s latest Tesla filing puts its stake at 4.96% as of September 30, 2026, just under the line, while Vanguard Capital Management reported 5.61% as of March 31, 2026.
The picture changes with size, as the chart below shows. Nearly every company in the top 500 has a 5% filing from one of the two, while below the top 1,000 the share falls to 45%.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| Largest 100 | 95% |
| Ranked 101 to 500 | 93% |
| Ranked 501 to 1,000 | 88% |
| Ranked below 1,000 | 45% |
Why do BlackRock and Vanguard own so many companies?
Much of their money sits in index funds, which hold the companies on a list such as the S&P 500. When trillions of dollars follow the same lists, the same manager ends up with a similar slice of nearly every big company.
An index fund, in the words of the SEC’s investor site, tries to track a market index, a list of companies, mainly by “investing in the securities (stocks or bonds) of companies that are included in the selected index.” Some use a sample of the list or derivatives, contracts that track prices, instead. New money put into such a fund is spread across the companies on the list.
Both firms are enormous in this business. BlackRock says the index money eligible for its voting program, $3.96 trillion, is “nearly half” of its index equity assets, meaning its index funds that hold stocks. Vanguard says nearly $4 trillion of its stock index money is eligible for its own program.
The filings show what that looks like. Vanguard Capital Management reported 7.48% of Apple and 7.48% of Microsoft, both as of March 31, 2026. Two identical stakes in two different giants fit money that holds each company by its weight in an index, which is our reading of the match.
The money is not the managers’ own. BlackRock’s filing on Sprouts says, under Item 6, that “various persons have the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of” the shares, and that “no one person’s interest” is more than five percent. Vanguard alone serves more than 50 million investors, as of December 31, 2025.
So when a filing calls BlackRock the beneficial owner, it uses the SEC’s word for whoever holds the voting power or the investment power over the shares. A company’s proxy statement, the yearly document sent to shareholders before their meeting, uses the same test: Sprouts’ says a beneficial owner “possesses sole or shared voting or investment power” over the stock. Our guide to index funds explains how these funds work, and our BlackRock earnings story shows where its clients moved money most recently.
Does BlackRock own Sprouts?
Yes. BlackRock reported 9.0% of Sprouts Farmers Market, the grocery chain, as of June 30, 2026, held for its clients. Fidelity’s parent company reported a bigger stake, and Vanguard shows up through its two units.
Sprouts makes a good worked example, because both firms, the two Vanguard units and an even bigger holder all appear in its filings. The answer sits in BlackRock’s 13G/A filed July 30, 2026, an amended 13G: 9.0% of its shares, down from 10.1% in its May filing.
Show the data
| Category | Value |
|---|---|
| FMR, Fidelity (Jun 30) | 15.00% |
| BlackRock (Jun 30) | 9.00% |
| Vanguard Capital (Mar 31) | 5.31% |
| Vanguard Portfolio (Jun 30) | 4.52% |
BlackRock is not the largest holder on record. FMR LLC, the parent company of Fidelity’s fund managers, reported 15.0% in a filing on August 6, 2026. Vanguard Capital Management reported 5.31% as of March 31.
Vanguard Portfolio Management reported 4.52% as of June 30, after 5.27% in April. The two Vanguard figures carry different dates, so adding them gives no current total.
A filing under 5% tells the SEC that the holder has dropped below the line. Under SEC Rule 13d-2, it then owes no further report until it goes back above 5%.
Sprouts’ own 2026 proxy statement tells an older story, because it copies these filings. Its table lists Vanguard, FMR and BlackRock as the only holders above 5%, and all directors and executive officers together at 1.3%. Its Vanguard figure comes from a filing made in February 2024, more than two years before the table’s date.
| Holder in the Sprouts proxy table | Shares | Percent | Filing the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Vanguard Group | 10,686,608 | 11.3% | 13G/A filed February 13, 2024 |
| FMR LLC | 9,973,789 | 10.5% | 13G/A filed March 6, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 9,355,481 | 9.9% | 13G/A filed July 17, 2025 |
| All directors and executive officers (19 people) | 1,193,647 | 1.3% | Company records |
Source: Sprouts Farmers Market proxy statement filed April 7, 2026, beneficial ownership table as of March 23, 2026.
Do BlackRock and Vanguard control the companies they own?
Their filings certify that the shares were not bought or held to change or influence control. The shares still carry votes, and both firms’ figures show most of that money voting under the managers’ or the funds’ own policies.
An investor above 5% that does aim to change or influence control files the longer Schedule 13D, within five business days. BlackRock and Vanguard file the 13G. BlackRock’s Sprouts filing certifies that the shares “were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer.”
Voting is a separate matter, and the filings list it apart from ownership. BlackRock reported sole voting power, the right to vote the shares on its own, over about 97% of its Sprouts shares. Vanguard Capital Management reported it over about 15% of the Sprouts shares it holds, and its filing does not say why.
Show the data
| Sprouts filing | Shares reported | Sole voting power |
|---|---|---|
| BlackRock, as of June 30, 2026 | 8,507,258 | 8,265,180 |
| Vanguard Capital Management, as of March 31, 2026 | 5,028,374 | 744,457 |
Source: the two Schedule 13G filings linked above.
Both firms now let some fund investors choose a voting policy for their part of the shares. A voting policy is a set of rules for how shares vote on matters such as board members and executive pay, and both menus include policies written by outside firms. Eligible money is the money in the funds and accounts each program covers.
BlackRock’s figures show about 23% of its eligible money committed to its Voting Choice options on June 30, 2026. Clients can also choose to rely on BlackRock’s own stewardship team, the staff who decide its votes, which BlackRock calls “itself a choice.” By BlackRock’s estimate, clients representing “more than three quarters” of its public equity assets, the stock money it manages, leave their votes to that team under its own policies, as of June 30, 2026.
Vanguard’s figures show about 4% of its eligible money taking part in Investor Choice as of July 31, 2026. Vanguard says the share of any investor who has not selected a policy “will continue to be voted by the Fund” under the fund’s own policy, which the fund’s trustees, the board that oversees it, adopt. At BlackRock, the eligible money is itself only “nearly half” of its index equity assets.
Show the data
| Voting program | Money committed or taking part | Eligible money | Share | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BlackRock Voting Choice | $923 billion committed | $3.96 trillion | About 23% | June 30, 2026 |
| Vanguard Investor Choice | $151 billion taking part | Nearly $4 trillion | About 4% | July 31, 2026 |
Source: BlackRock, Voting Choice; Vanguard, Investor Choice.
So the money belongs to savers and clients, but the votes on most of it are still cast under the two firms’ or their funds’ own policies. The voting programs are how investors can change that, and so far only a minority of the money offered them has committed to them or taken part.
Why does Vanguard appear under two names in SEC filings?
Since January 2026, Vanguard files its 5% reports through two units, Vanguard Capital Management and Vanguard Portfolio Management. Each reports only its own stake, so a company can drop off Vanguard’s 5% list with no sale shown anywhere in the filings.
The change is explained in The Vanguard Group’s own filings. “On January 12, 2026, The Vanguard Group, Inc. went through an internal realignment,” its March 2026 filing on Sprouts says, and certain units “will report beneficial ownership separately.” The units, it adds, “pursue the same investment strategies” as before.
That filing reports 0% for The Vanguard Group, and so do its filings on other companies that month. A 0% Vanguard Group report from March 2026 is the paperwork of the split, and the stake now sits with the two units.
Each unit files only when its own stake passes the line. Of the 2,133 US companies where The Vanguard Group filed a 0% report after the change, 712 have no 5% filing from either unit since.
Our reading is that the number reflects how Vanguard now files, with each unit reporting alone. The filings do not show whether Vanguard’s funds sold any shares. Walmart and Oracle are the largest of them. Sprouts shows the mechanism: its Vanguard stake is split between the two units, and one of them is already under 5%.
How to check who owns a stock
Four public filings answer it: the 5% reports, the company’s proxy statement, the managers’ quarterly holdings reports and insiders’ trade reports. Read the date on each one, because some ownership figures on record are more than two years old.
- Schedule 13G or 13D Filed by a holder above 5%; the shares and percent are in Item 4 of a 13G, Item 5 of a 13D.
- Proxy statement The company's yearly table of its 5% holders, directors and officers, copied from their filings.
- Form 13F A big manager's quarterly report of the stocks on the SEC's 13F list; it leaves some positions out.
- Form 4 Trades by officers, directors and holders above 10%, mostly within two business days.
Start with the 5% reports. On a company’s filings page, such as the one for Sprouts, look for the Schedule 13G and 13D filings and their amendments. In a 13G, Item 4 gives the shares and the percent of one class of stock, and in a 13D it is Item 5. The cover page gives the date of the event behind the filing.
Next, the proxy statement has a table called Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management. It lists every holder above 5% along with the directors and officers, and our proxy statement guide shows where to find it.
A fund manager’s Form 13F goes the other way, reporting what one manager holds across many companies. Managers with $100 million or more in the US-listed stocks and other securities on the SEC’s 13F list file it after each quarter. It leaves some positions out, among them short positions, which are bets that a price will fall, so it is no full portfolio.
Form 4 covers the insiders, which the SEC defines as officers, directors and holders of more than 10%. They report most trades within two business days, and our Form 4 guide explains the codes.
To see how a fund voted, go one step further. Each fund files a Form N-PX by August 31 every year, listing the proposals it could vote on and how it voted. The company reports the results of every vote, director elections included, in a Form 8-K under Item 5.07, within four business days of the meeting.
Two traps sit in these records. One is the date. Under SEC Rule 13d-2, a 13G holder files again after a quarter with a material change, and sooner when it passes 10%. The rule treats a change of one percent or more of the class, one type of share, as material, and a smaller change can count too.
A stake that drifts by less can sit on the record for years. BlackRock’s latest filing on Apple, for example, is a 13G/A filed February 12, 2024, showing 6.7%. The same rule asks for no new filing when the percent moves only because the company issued or bought back shares.
The other trap is Vanguard’s two units. Search for both, and read a 0% Vanguard Group filing from March 2026 as the split.
Show the data
| Company | BlackRock, latest filing | Vanguard Capital Management, latest filing |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | 7.3%, filed January 26, 2024 | 7.31%, filed April 28, 2026 |
| Apple | 6.7%, filed February 12, 2024 | 7.48%, filed April 29, 2026 |
| Microsoft | 7.3%, filed February 13, 2024 | 7.48%, filed April 30, 2026 |
| Tesla | 4.96%, filed October 27, 2026 | 5.61%, filed April 30, 2026 |
Source: Schedule 13G and 13G/A filings on SEC EDGAR, linked in each cell.
Who owns BlackRock and who owns Vanguard?
BlackRock is a listed company owned by its shareholders, and a Vanguard unit reports 6.87% of its stock. Vanguard says it is owned by its own funds, which belong to the people who invest in them.
Vanguard describes its setup on its own site: “Vanguard is owned by its funds, which are owned by Vanguard’s fund shareholders.” Nothing in that setup gives BlackRock a stake in Vanguard.
BlackRock trades on the NYSE under the ticker BLK, and it shows up in the same filings as everyone else. Vanguard Capital Management reported 6.87% of BlackRock’s stock as of March 31, 2026, held for the funds and client accounts it manages.
Show the data
- Vanguard funds, owned by savers to Vanguard: own Vanguard.
- Vanguard to Vanguard Capital Management: unit that files 5% reports.
- Vanguard Capital Management to BlackRock (NYSE: BLK): reports 6.87%, funds and clients.
The chain looks strange at first and is less mysterious up close. Our reading is that Vanguard’s funds hold a slice of BlackRock for the same reason they hold a slice of Apple. BlackRock is a large company on the same index lists.
What to watch
- Whether the Vanguard units’ holdings at companies that left their 5% list moved: each manager’s Form 13F for September 30, 2026 is due by November 16, 2026, per the SEC’s 13F schedule.
Our numbers
These figures are our calculations from the sources linked in this article.
- 95 of the 100 largest US companies (BlackRock 93, Vanguard 95): latest Schedule 13G at 5% or more from BlackRock or a Vanguard unit, for the largest US companies on NYSE and Nasdaq in StockTitan’s data, October 30, 2026.
- 2,411 of 4,343 US companies, and the size groups: the same test for every US company on NYSE and Nasdaq in that data, leaving out 13 BlackRock filings that could not be read and any BlackRock stake last reported before 2019.
- 712 of 2,133 companies: The Vanguard Group filed a 0% report after January 12, 2026 and neither Vanguard unit has filed at 5% or more since.
- 73 of 93: BlackRock’s 5% stakes among the 100 largest whose newest filing dates from 2024, counting filings under all three SEC filer numbers, the IDs BlackRock files under.
- About a third: BlackRock’s 5% stakes among all 4,343 companies whose newest filing dates from 2024 or earlier, 820 of 2,354. Every Vanguard unit stake at 5% or more rests on a filing from 2026.
- About 97% and 15%: sole voting power divided by shares reported in the BlackRock and Vanguard Capital Management Sprouts filings.
- About 23% and 4%: money committed or taking part in each voting program divided by the eligible money each firm states.
More questions about BlackRock and Vanguard ownership
Does Vanguard own BlackRock?
Vanguard’s funds and client accounts own part of it. Vanguard Capital Management reported 6.87% of BlackRock’s stock as of March 31, 2026, in a Schedule 13G that certifies the stake is not held to control the company.
Is Vanguard owned by BlackRock?
No. Vanguard says it is owned by its funds, which are owned by the people who invest in them, and BlackRock is a separate company listed on the NYSE.
What companies do BlackRock and Vanguard own?
Their funds hold shares in thousands of companies. Of the 4,343 US companies on NYSE and Nasdaq, more than half have a 5% filing from at least one of them as of October 30, 2026. Each firm’s quarterly Form 13F reports its holdings of the securities on the SEC’s 13F list.
Who owns BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street?
BlackRock and State Street trade on the NYSE and are owned by their shareholders, while Vanguard is owned by its funds. Vanguard’s two units reported 7.35% and 5.80% of State Street in filings made in April 2026.
How can I see who owns a stock on StockTitan?
Open the company’s SEC filings page, at stocktitan.net/sec-filings/ followed by its ticker. Look there for Schedule 13G and 13D filings for the big holders, the proxy statement, filed as a DEF 14A, for the ownership table, and Form 4 for insiders’ trades. The live SEC filings feed shows new 5% reports as they arrive.
Sources
- StockTitan: Sprouts Farmers Market SEC filings
- StockTitan: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Sprouts, July 30, 2026
- StockTitan: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Sprouts, May 6, 2026
- StockTitan: FMR Schedule 13G/A on Sprouts, August 6, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on Sprouts, April 30, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Portfolio Management Schedule 13G on Sprouts, April 29, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Portfolio Management Schedule 13G/A on Sprouts, July 31, 2026
- StockTitan: The Vanguard Group Schedule 13G/A on Sprouts, March 27, 2026
- StockTitan: Sprouts Farmers Market proxy statement, April 7, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on BlackRock, April 27, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on Nvidia, April 28, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on Apple, April 29, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on Microsoft, April 30, 2026
- StockTitan: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Tesla, October 27, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Capital Management Schedule 13G on State Street, April 30, 2026
- StockTitan: Vanguard Portfolio Management Schedule 13G on State Street, April 29, 2026
- StockTitan: live SEC filings feed
- SEC EDGAR: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Apple, February 12, 2024
- SEC EDGAR: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Nvidia, January 26, 2024
- SEC EDGAR: BlackRock Schedule 13G/A on Microsoft, February 13, 2024
- SEC: press release 2023-219 on beneficial ownership reporting
- SEC: fact sheet, modernization of beneficial ownership reporting
- eCFR: 17 CFR 240.13d-2, filing of amendments to Schedules 13D or 13G
- SEC: frequently asked questions about Form 13F
- Investor.gov: insider transactions and Forms 3, 4 and 5
- Investor.gov: index fund
- Investor.gov: information available from investment companies, Form N-PX
- Investor.gov: how to read an 8-K
- Vanguard: facts and figures
- Vanguard: Investor Choice
- BlackRock: Voting Choice
- BlackRock Investment Stewardship: 2026 Global Voting Spotlight
The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment recommendation, or an endorsement of any particular investment strategy. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investors should conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.