Announced share repurchase authorizations have slowed considerably since March, aside from a few large Tech/Telecom companies continuing repurchases. Of the new authorization volumes since March, ~75% has come from just three companies: Apple ($50BN), Alphabet ($28BN), and Oracle ($15BN). Most of the remaining large authorizations in this time frame came in the early days of […]

While each industry and company has specific business and economic considerations during these unprecedented times, Guzman analyzed how share repurchases and dividends in the S&P 500 performed during recessionary periods, including when buyback volumes bottomed out in Q2 2009. Displaying the more flexible nature of buyback programs, repurchase volumes fell more sharply than dividends during […]

Before the Covid-19 outbreak in the U.S., and the economic and financial ramifications that have followed, share repurchase authorizations were increasing. Additionally, Q4’19 earnings reports showed an increase in buyback volumes Q/Q and was trending upwards. Last month, U.S. corporations announced over $50BN of new buyback authorizations on an above-average number of new plans. Volumes […]

The new year began without much fireworks in the buyback market; it was the smallest month by authorized volumes in over seven years. 33 announcements greater than $25M, representing $14BN.  Nearly half of authorizations came from the Financial sector, lead by Intercontinental Exchange ($2.4BN), HCA Healthcare ($2BN) and PNC ($1BN). February is shaping up to […]

Mastercard (MA) swiped their card on a $8BN share repurchase authorization in December, the largest announcement of the month. This plan is on top of the ~$200M remaining under their $6.5BN authorization from December 2018. Mastercard has been steadily increasing their buyback Y/Y from $3.5BN in 2016 up to $6.3BN in 2019. MA also increased […]

Tis the season for the consumer sectors to announce share repurchase authorizations. Rudolph the Red Nose Buyback was Automatic Data Processing (ADP) leading the way in November with a $5BN announcement along with Target’s $5BN plan. Other notable announcements we found under the Christmas tree were from Thermo Fisher ($2.5BN), Yum! ($2BN) and Kroger ($1BN). […]

This October was light on buyback trick-or-treats as U.S. companies authorized $38BN of new repurchases. On the back of strong earnings, Intel (INTC) announced a plan for $20BN, an increase from the $15BN plan announced in Q4’18. Intel has been increasing the amount of repurchases executed for the past three consecutive quarters. Behind Intel, both […]

Corporate share repurchase practices have received national attention ahead of the elections, becoming part of the broader debate on wealth inequality in America. Executive Summary We believe the threat to buybacks today is minimal: in a divided Congress, and Republican controlled Senate, none of the proposed bills have even made it to a vote, and […]

If we had to PowerPoint to one Word that caused buyback volumes to Excel in September, providing further Outlook into markets, it would be “Microsoft”. The tech giant led the month with a new $40BN share repurchase authorization, representing just under 4% of their market capitalization. As is recent tradition with buybacks, the Tech and […]

With summer vacations in full swing, August is typically a quiet month in all markets, including share repurchase announcements. This year was no different with 65 companies announcing authorizations greater than $25M totaling $17BN for an average announcement size of $262M. The past five Augusts averaged $25BN in volume authorized, with this year’s $17BN being […]

“Buybacks as easy as A, B, C” The major headline in July’s new buyback authorizations was Alphabet’s $25BN announcement. Alphabet’s new authorization is nearly triple their previous $8.6BN 2018 plan. Alphabet currently has a cash pile of $120BN+ and growing, surpassing Apple as the largest cash holder. Thus far, Google’s parent has been relatively modest […]

Stock buyback growth in the Financials sector has been robust since the end of the global financial crisis, becoming a market leading sector. Since the end of the global financial crisis, the Financial sector has grown to become one of the leading sectors in share repurchase activity.  In 2010, Financials accounted for about 5% of […]

Earnings and buybacks have long maintained a close relationship, with net income being a reliable leading indicator for share repurchases. Earnings growth had been robust in recent years, reaching the second highest level ever in Q4’19 before dropping sharply in 2020. Quarterly share buybacks and reported earnings have a strong correlation, particularly with a quarter […]

In recent years, Apple has been the undeniable leader in share repurchase volumes, outspending all others. It’s no surprise to many that the largest buyer of their own stock has been Apple (AAPL). Apple has repurchased $300BN+ in the past five years and $440BN+ in the past 10 years. They also are responsible for nine […]

$140BN of buyback volume was authorized in June from 38 repurchasers announcing plans greater than $25M. This was the busiest month by volume since the record $196BN in June of 2018. “You can take these buybacks to the bank.” The two most notable events in June were the Summer solstice and U.S. financial institutions announcing […]

The top 20 biggest buyers account for 53% of S&P 500 share repurchase volume. The buyback market is notoriously top heavy, with 5 companies responsible for over 28% of volume. The top heavy theme was exasperated in 2020 but has since moderated to recent historical averages. The top 20 biggest buyers account for 53% of […]

Earnings-per-share has outpaced the growth of net income, illustrating some of the effects of rapid buyback growth. One market condition to monitor is the ever-popular Earnings-per-share (EPS) and its relationship with its components. EPS is the calculation of net income per share of common stock outstanding. Growth or decline in this key metric is defined […]

Buybacks have out sized dividend payments every quarter since 2004, with the only exception being during the 2008/09 recession and in Q2/Q3 of 2020. In the early 2000’s, buybacks and dividends were near equals in terms of the volumes being returned to investors, with dividends being slightly higher most quarters. Since 2004, however, buybacks have […]

Share repurchases were growing strongly up through Q1 2020 before being cut in (more than) half in Q2. They rebounded moderately in Q3, before the pace accelerated in Q4’20 and further in Q1’21. In Q1’20, companies in the S&P 500 repurchased just shy of $200BN worth of shares. In Q2, that number fell by 55% […]