The Five Largest Majority and Broadly Employee-Owned Non-ESOP Companies

The vast majority of companies owned broadly by employees have an ESOP. We recently released our yearly update to the Employee Ownership 100, the 100 largest companies owned by an ESOP or a worker cooperative. By the nature of these plans, most or usually all employees meeting a basic service requirement can become owners.

Many companies, especially in professional services (engineering, architecture, accounting, law, and investment advisory services), are also employee-owned, but only by a small, generally more highly paid part of their workforce.

A few large non-ESOP companies (all large enough to be in the Employee Ownership 100 if they had an ESOP) are majority-owned by a majority of their workforce. One is a worker cooperative and is included on that list, one is a partnership, two are owned by employees buying stock in the company, and the fifth is owned through an employee ownership trust. Collectively, they employ about 75,000 people.

Edward R. Jones is a 55,000-employee investment advisory firm entirely owned by current and former employees. Headquartered in St. Louis, it has over 15,000 branch offices in the US and Canada, meaning most of its offices are staffed by just a few people. The company has a distinctive partnership structure that makes it possible for any employee to become a limited partner (there is also a limited number of general partners who have a voting interest in the company). The broad-based partnership model goes back to 1968, when Ted Jones, son of the founder, decided that partnership should be available to everyone.

As of 2024, Edward R. Jones had approximately 33,800 limited partners; 27,000 are currently employed. Of the partners, 13,000 are active registered financial advisors, 10,000 are branch staff members, and 4,000 are headquarters staff, with the remaining partners being retirees. In 2025, the company announced that it would make it easier for administrative employees to become partners. The company’s roughly 20,000 financial advisors are able to acquire a limited partnership if they meet required performance standards, including a minimum profitability level for their office. Support staff can acquire a partnership interest once minimum tenure requirements are met.

The Edward R. Jones limited partnership agreement provides a fixed 7.5% return even if the company is not profitable. In addition, a share of profits is added to the partnership investment return. Over the last 20 years, the average return has been 20% per year.

R.W. Baird is a Milwaukee-based investment advisory firm with 5,300 employees. Employees started gradually purchasing the firm from Northwestern Mutual Life in 1997 and completed the process in 2004. Share prices are based on book value and grew by over 325% between 2015 and 2024. Eighty-five percent of its employees own stock; senior management owns less than 10% of the stock. Employees become eligible to buy shares after one year of service, and only employees can own shares. Employees can choose to buy the shares out of payroll deductions. The stock also pays a dividend. Baird has the right to purchase shares when employees leave the firm.

Graybar is a 10,000-employee distributor of electrical, communications, data networking, and industrial products. It has been employee-owned since 1929, when employees bought the company from Western Electric through an employee stock purchase plan. Only current and retired employees are allowed to buy shares, and about 70% of current employees own stock. Any employee can purchase shares. A five-person trust committee elected by employees appoints the board of directors. The trust is not allowed to sell the shares. Employees can purchase shares once a year. The share price is fixed at $20 and does not fluctuate. The shares typically pay a dividend, historically 10% or more. The company repurchases the shares to make them available to other employees, who can sell them at any time.

American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) is a 2,600-employee manufacturer of steel and iron pipes. Its main plant in Birmingham, Alabama, employs 1,700 people, with 900 more in eight other plants around the US and one in Brazil.

In April 1923, ACIPCO founder John Eagan placed all the company’s common stock in a trust to be managed by employees for the benefit of employees and customers. In Eagan’s words, his objective was to ensure “service both to the purchasing public and to labor on the basis of the Golden Rule.” Egan died in 1924, and ACIPCO became the first company in the US to be owned by an employee ownership trust.

The company pays a quarterly bonus to all employees if profit goals are met. Fourteen employees are elected by their peers to represent the interests of employees in company operations, with four serving on the board. The others serve on various project teams.

Cooperative Home Care Associates is a 1,700-employee home care services company in New York City. The company is a worker cooperative. Employees can choose to buy into the cooperative after three months of service for $1,000. Each worker-owner has one vote. About half the employees are members. The employees do not buy shares; instead, they purchase a membership interest in the cooperative, which can be paid through payroll deductions. Members get a share of company profits but do not have an equity interest in the company. Employees constitute a majority of the board.

Two other notable large closely held companies are partially owned through employee ownership trusts (EOTs). In 2025, Consumer Direct Care Network (CDCN) announced that an EOT now owns over 30% of its shares and is on a path to cover up to 60,000 employees within three years. The company provides home health care services. Also in 2025, Epic Health, a 10,000-employee health software company, turned down a $30 billion offer to be sold. Judy Faulkner, the 82-year-old principal owner, said the company is not for sale and that its current employee ownership trust, which holds a minority of the shares, would become the sole owner after her death.