Companies spent $249 billion on stock buybacks in Q3 2025, and $777 billion over the first three quarters of 2025. Also known as a share buyback or share repurchase, a stock buyback is a way for companies to return money to shareholders.
Stock buybacks reached $942.5 billion in 2024, the highest total ever in a calendar year, but that record isn't expected to last long. Analysts are forecasting $1.2 trillion in buybacks in 2025.
But which companies are spending the most on stock buybacks? And is this a smart strategy or a misallocation of resources? Let's take a closer look at the most recent stock buyback statistics, including the companies and market sectors with the largest buyback numbers.
Which companies make the largest stock market buybacks?
Here are the 10 companies that have made the largest stock buybacks through the most recent 12-month period on record.
Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $96.671 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 2.5%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $468.194 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $755.231 billion
Apple is the largest company by market cap, and it also consistently repurchases more stock than any other company. In 2024, it was responsible for more than 10% of all stock buybacks.
Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $55.761 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 1.9%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $281.410 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $342.445 billion
Alphabet, which owns Google, has repurchased more than $15 billion in shares every quarter for over a year. In April 2025, its board of directors authorized up to $70 billion in stock repurchases.
Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $51.753 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 1.1%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $108.676 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $115.125 billion
Nvidia has ridden the artificial intelligence (AI) wave to become among the most valuable companies in the world and the first to reach a market cap of $4 trillion. Its stock buyback rate is lower than most of the top 10, possibly because of how quickly its share price has risen.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $44.233 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 2.3%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $195.709 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $230.350 billion
Meta is the company that owns Facebook, and it spent more than $8 billion on stock buybacks in the third quarter of 2025. Mark Zuckerberg's company has slowed buybacks throughout 2025.
JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE:JPM) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $27.628 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 3.2%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $73.551 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $149.763 billion
JPMorgan Chase has been ramping up its stock buybacks. In July 2025, its board authorized a share repurchase program of $50 billion, up from the $30 billion it approved in 2024.
Exxon Mobil's (NYSE:XOM) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $20.674 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 4.3%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $67.681 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $71.685 billion
One of the leading oil companies, Exxon Mobil, has also been a leader in stock buybacks with a target of $20 billion per year through 2026.
Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $19.963 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 0.5%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $116.907 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $199.882 billion
Microsoft hasn't bought back as many of its shares as some of its tech rivals. However, that could change in the near future, as its board of directors has authorized up to $60 billion in share repurchases.
Bank of America’s (BAC -1.64%) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $18.658 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 4.8%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $63.265 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $136.990 billion
Bank of America has increased its buybacks in recent quarters. In the third quarter of 2025, it repurchased $5.3 billion worth of shares, up from $3.5 billion a year prior.
Visa's (NYSE:V) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (as of Sept. 30, 2025): $18.597billion
- 12-month stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 3%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $68.278 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $106.772 billion
Visa has a dominant share of the payment processing market, with $13.2 trillion in payment volume during 2024. In recent years, it has bet big on its growth prospects by repurchasing its stock. In April 2025, the board authorized buybacks of $30 billion spread over multiple years.
Wells Fargo's (NYSE:WFC) stock buybacks
- 12-month stock buybacks (ended Sept. 2025): $16.516 billion
- Stock buybacks as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2025): 6.2%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $64.825 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $135.247 billion
Wells Fargo has slowed down its stock buybacks, from $6.0 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to $3.5 billion a year later. However, in April 2025, it announced board approval of a $40 billion stock repurchase program, and in Q3 2025, it repurchased $6 billion shares.
Which sectors make the largest stock buybacks?
The sectors with the largest stock buybacks are the information technology, financial, communication services, healthcare, and industrial sectors. Here's a closer look at share buyback numbers in each of them.
Information technology stock buybacks
- 12-month information technology stock buybacks (as of Sept. 31, 2025): $281.6 billion
- 12-month information technology stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 27.6%
- 5-year information technology stock buybacks: $1.247 trillion
- 10-year information technology stock buybacks: $2.170 trillion
Tech companies generally prefer repurchasing shares over raising dividends, and this sector has accounted for the most stock buybacks over the last decade.
Financial stock buybacks
- 12-month financial stock buybacks (as of Sept. 31, 2025): $218.6 billion
- 12-month financial stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 21.4%
- 5-year financial stock buybacks: $815 billion
- 10-year financial stock buybacks: $1.464 trillion
Many of the big banks and financial services companies have carved out significant market shares already, making stock buybacks one of the best uses of their capital.
Communication services stock buybacks
- 12-month communication services stock buybacks (as of Sept. 31, 2025): $146.1 billion
- 12-month communication services stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 14.3%
- 5-year communication services stock buybacks: $656.6 billion
- 10-year communication services stock buybacks: $781.5 billion
The communications sector has ramped up its stock buybacks in the last five years, and it's comfortably in third overall.
Industrial stock buybacks
- 12-month industrial stock buybacks (as of Sept. 31, 2025): $91.6 billion
- 12-month industrial stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 8.98%
- 5-year industrial stock buybacks: $361 billion
- 10-year industrial stock buybacks: $675.5 billion
Industrial companies have increased their total stock buybacks significantly in the two most recent quarters, which helped this sector push past consumer discretionary companies.
Healthcare stock buybacks
- 12-month healthcare stock buybacks (as of Sept. 31, 2025): $89.3 billion
- 12-month healthcare stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 8.76%
- 5-year healthcare stock buybacks: $409.4 billion
- 10-year healthcare stock buybacks: $810 billion
Share repurchases have declined in the healthcare sector over the last decade, but healthcare companies still make up a sizable portion of stock buybacks overall.
How many companies have done stock buybacks in the last year?
A total of 436 companies have done stock buybacks in the last year on record, ending on Sept. 30, 2025.
Stock buybacks are top-heavy despite the large number of companies that do them. The top 20 companies in the S&P 500 have historically accounted for nearly half (47.7%) of stock buybacks on average.
Why should investors care about stock buybacks?
Stock buybacks generally make a company's shares more valuable. They decrease the number of outstanding shares, so there's a smaller supply available, which increases earnings per share (EPS). Each shareholder is effectively getting a larger slice of a company's earnings and total value.
However, not everybody believes that share buybacks are a good use of capital. Some economists argue that companies are better off reinvesting cash in their businesses for expansion instead of using it to repurchase shares on the open market.
It ultimately depends on the company and the strategy behind the stock buyback. Done for the wrong reasons, stock buybacks can be disastrous. Bed Bath & Beyond is a cautionary tale in this regard. From 2004 until it declared bankruptcy in 2023, it spent $11.8 billion on stock buybacks to improve its share price even as its workforce dwindled.
But well-executed stock buybacks are good news for investors, and there's no better example than Apple. Led by a strong management team, this company has regularly bought back stock to increase share value. If you're confident in a company's direction and leadership, then a stock buyback isn't anything to worry about.
Sources
About the Author
