International investors now hold roughly 18% of all US equities, a record share that hasn’t been seen since at least 1945. In dollar terms, that translates to somewhere around $18 to $20 trillion worth of American stocks sitting in foreign hands.
Here’s the thing: this isn’t just a story about foreigners buying more shares. A big chunk of the increase comes from valuation gains, meaning the stocks they already owned simply got more expensive. But the buying hasn’t stopped either. Record foreign private inflows into US stocks hit $646.7 billion in the 12 months through September 2025, according to US Treasury International Capital data.
Who’s buying and why it matters
The usual suspects dominate foreign ownership of American equities. Advanced economies, particularly the UK, Canada, and Japan, hold the lion’s share. Emerging market investors, by contrast, tend to park their money in safer instruments like US Treasuries rather than betting on equities.
US equities now make up a massive portion of foreign investors’ total US financial assets, ranging from roughly 30% to 61% depending on the measurement.
