We have all heard some form of this claim used to justify EM's prioritization of our dividend. It sure makes a nice sound bite, and suggests DW really cares about those small retail investors trying to make end meets with our dividend.
Has anyone actually seen the data to support this claim?
Most investors today invest in stocks through large indexed mutual funds.
Is it accurate to describe large institutional index funds as "retail" investors?
Seems misleading.
So called "insiders", or senior level execs and board members who can theoretically steer company decisions, hold about 0.7% of all outstanding shares according to financial reports filed with SEC.
4% is employee owned
I have seen data showing over 50% hold the stock...But there is a possibility that smaller individual investors hold stock directly through other accounts such as fidelity or other places. I think they are distinguishing individuals vs funds.
We are not an annuity company. Narrative isn’t coherent
Perhaps he meant straight numbers of holders of the stock with no regard to the % of float they own? Seems like a nonsense metric a floundering company would tout.
Not sure what the number is, but I understand that an executive at ANY publicly traded company has an enormous incentive to build a narrative that shows his/her company in the best light possible. I never put to much value on the words they say, but I don't think this type of fact twisting is unique to DW. I wouldn't put much stock in any single metric DW chooses to highlight, overall performance is all that matters, but here's a couple of data points for what it's worth:
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/XOM/holders?p=XOM
https://www.morningstar.com/stocks/xnys/xom/ownership
OP - thanks WXZ+. I did quick search on SEC, and a 2020 EM letter stated that in 2018, about 44% of shares were owned by "retail investors" :
ExxonMobil is one of the most widely held public companies in the United States with a
substantial number of long-term individual shareholders. Many of our more than 3.4 million
registered and beneficial shareholder accounts are held by Americans who depend upon their
investment in us for their financial security. ExxonMobil’s dividend, which has grown for the
last 37 successive years, is a mainstay of many household incomes. We estimate that 44 percent
of our outstanding shares are owned by retail investors, based on available 2018 data. We are
proud that ExxonMobil stock has remained in some families for generations.
So, EM's own statement based on 2018 data suggests only 44% are "retail investors". I would still like to learn how we define "retail investors". If definition is an investor who purchases EM stock directly as an individual, then I think it makes sense to separate EM Executives, EM employees from that figure.
Does anyone know roughly the % of outstanding stock which EM Executives and EM Employees own? Subtracting that amount from the 44% "retail investors" would start to get us closer to actual % of individual investors who might be counting on our dividend to make ends meet.
They are not small retail investors.
They are not small retail investors.
Retail investors is very misleading. More like the heirs.
Is it possible to determine what % of XOM stock, of the retail investors, is employee or retiree owned? I’d say none of those investors truly need to “rely” on the dividend. I didn’t know we were in the business of giving handouts, especially with money we don’t have.
And if DW wants to do all this for the small retail investor, fine. Declare that you, the board, and all XOM executives will not receive a dividend payment till the quarterly average oil price comes back to $60/bbl, or we don’t let go of employees anymore.
Yes the data is closer to 40% retail. It’s available from SEC