Free Float
الأسهم الحرة
Free float is the portion of a company’s shares available for trading by the public, excluding stakes held by founders, governments, strategic investors, and other long-term holders. A larger free float generally supports higher liquidity in the stock. EGX indices, including the EGX 30, weight companies by their free-float-adjusted market capitalization.
Example
A company with one billion shares where founders and the state hold 700 million has a free float of 300 million — only those are realistically available to trade.
Why it matters
Free float determines how much of a company the market can actually buy and sell, which drives its liquidity and its weight in a float-adjusted index such as the EGX 30.
A common mistake
Using total market capitalisation to judge tradability. A large company with a small float can be harder to build or exit a position in than a smaller company that is mostly public.