The following table classifies the CAC40 stocks by their total capitalization (left column) and by their float capitalization (right column). If a company is better ranked on the left than on the right, it means that its free float is limited. Some lessons:
- LVMH is the first capitalization on all the tables, while its free float represents only 50% of the capitalization (Bernard Arnault and his family own half of the capital). This is explained by the fact that its capitalization is extremely high.
- Hermès has a very large gross capitalization (the 3and of the CAC40 despite the ebb of the title by 30% lately), but is in reality only the 13and capitalization of the index because its available capital is only 30%. Among the other files in which a significant share of the capital is not available in the sense of the free float, we find the family companies L’Oréal (Bettencourt) and Dassault Systèmes (Dassault), Crédit Agricole (because of the control of the regional funds) and Thales (State and Dassault Aviation shareholders).
- Conversely, there are some folders with very high float, which allows them to appear higher in the right column than in the left. For example Vinci, Legrand or Publicis. This is also the case for Teleperformance, the only CAC40 stock whose free float is at 100%.
To complete, here is a reminder of how Euronext classifies companies listed on its regulated market. The two criteria are volumes traded and the free float market capitalization. A few words on these two concepts:
- Volumes traded : this is the value (in euros) of the aggregate of trades traded in the Euronext electronic order book and off-market transactions but carried out within the regulatory environment of Euronext over 12 months, on average.
- Floating capitalization : this is the fraction of capitalization available for trading, rounded to the nearest multiple of 5%. To obtain the free float percentage, we remove the shares held by certain types of shareholders (insiders, i.e. managers, employees, founders and their families, as well as shares held by the State or public entities and treasury shares).
We could also have drawn the same graph with trading volumes. From this point of view, TotalEnergies is in first place, ahead of LVMH and… Stellantis.