Companies spent about $700 billion on stock buybacks over the first three quarters of 2024. Also known as a share buyback or share repurchase, a stock buyback is a way for companies to return money to shareholders.
Stock buybacks peaked in 2022, when companies repurchased a record $922.7 billion in shares. That fell by 13.8% to $795.2 billion in 2023, the same year that publicly traded U.S. corporations became subject to a 1% excise tax on share repurchases.
But which companies are spending the most on stock buybacks? And is this a smart strategy or a misallocation of resources? To find out, take a deep dive into the most recent stock buyback statistics, including the companies and market sectors with the largest buyback numbers.
Which companies made the largest stock buybacks in 2024?
Here are the 10 companies that have made the largest stock buybacks through the first three quarters of 2024.
Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $77.660 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of Sept. 30, 2024): 2.2%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $447.515 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $695.312 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
- 2024 stock buyback: $46.671 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 2.3%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $254.992 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $286.684 billion
Alphabet, which owns Google, has repurchased more than $15 billion in shares every quarter of 2024.
Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $40.038 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 2.8%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $160.186 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $186.187 billion
Meta is the company that owns Facebook, and it spent more than $18 billion on stock buybacks in the first quarter of 2024. It has slowed down since then but still ranks third overall for the year.
Nvidia's (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $30.963 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 1.0%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $57.727 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $63.828 billion
Nvidia was the hottest stock of 2024, riding the artificial intelligence (AI) wave to a market cap of more than $2 trillion. Its stock buyback rate was lower than most of the top 10, possibly because of how quickly its share price was rising.
Wells Fargo's (NYSE:WFC) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $15.448 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 8.2%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $59.433 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $128.399 billion
Wells Fargo spent about $6 billion per quarter on stock buybacks over the first half of 2024. It slowed down after that, to $3.4 billion in the third quarter of the year.
JPMorgan Chase's (NYSE:JPM) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $14.529 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 2.4%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $59.191 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $128.042 billion
JPMorgan Chase has been increasing its stock buybacks, from $2.8 billion in the first quarter of 2024 to $6.4 billion in the third quarter.
Exxon Mobil's (NYSE:XOM) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $13.849 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 2.7%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $47.485 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $57.614 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.
Visa's (NYSE:V) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $13.169 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 2.4%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $57.955 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $91.193 billion
Visa has a dominant share of the payment processing market, with $13.2 trillion in payments volume during 2024. In recent years, it has bet big on its growth prospects by repurchasing its stock.
Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $12.530 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 0.4%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $121.743 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $196.231 billion
Microsoft hasn't bought back as much 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.
Chevron's (NYSE:CVX) stock buybacks
- 2024 stock buyback: $10.535 billion
- 2024 stock buyback as a percentage of market cap (as of September 30, 2024): 4.0%
- 5-year stock buybacks: $37.297 billion
- 10-year stock buybacks: $41.992 billion
Chevron has been paying out quite a bit of money to shareholders lately, with a high stock buyback rate and a dividend yield above 4%.
Which sectors made the largest stock buybacks in 2024?
The sectors with the largest stock buybacks in 2024 are the information technology, financial, communication services, healthcare, and consumer discretionary sectors. Here's a closer look at share buyback numbers in each of them.
Information technology stock buybacks
- 2024 information technology stock buybacks: $189.627 billion
- 2024 information technology stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 27.1%
- 5-year information technology stock buybacks: $1.164 trillion
- 10-year information technology stock buybacks: $2.035 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
- 2024 financial stock buybacks: $132.427 billion
- 2024 financial stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 18.9%
- 5-year financial stock buybacks: $713.734 billion
- 10-year financial stock buybacks: $1.335 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
- 2024 communication services stock buybacks: $113.422 billion
- 2024 communication services stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 16.2%
- 5-year communication services stock buybacks: $589.004 billion
- 10-year communication services stock buybacks: $641.074 billion
The communications sector has ramped up its stock buybacks in the last five years, and it's not too far behind financial companies in 2024.
Healthcare stock buybacks
- 2024 healthcare stock buybacks: $61.253 billion
- 2024 healthcare stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 8.8%
- 5-year healthcare stock buybacks: $379.165 billion
- 10-year healthcare stock buybacks: $789.673 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.
Consumer discretionary stock buybacks
- 2024 consumer discretionary stock buybacks: $54.820 billion
- 2024 consumer discretionary stock buybacks as a percentage of all S&P 500 stock buybacks: 7.8%
- 5-year consumer discretionary stock buybacks: $365.235 billion
- 10-year consumer discretionary stock buybacks: $791.744 billion
Consumer discretionary companies have increased their total stock buybacks every quarter of 2024, which helped this sector push past industrials and make it into the top five.
How many companies have done stock buybacks in the last year?
A total of 425 companies have done stock buybacks in the last year on record (the fourth quarter of 2023 through the third quarter of 2024).
Stock buybacks are top heavy despite the large number of companies that do them. The top 20 companies in the S&P 500 have accounted for more than 50% of stock buybacks during the last four quarters on record. That's above the historical average of 47.6%.
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
- S&P Global (2024). "S&P 500 Q2 2024 Buybacks Decrease 0.4% from Q1 2024, as 12-month Expenditure Increases 8.0% from Previous Year; Earnings Per Share Impact from Buybacks Declines; Buybacks Tax Results in a 0.45% Reduction in Q2 Operating Earnings and 0.49% Reduction in Q2 Earnings."
- S&P Global (2024). "S&P 500 Q3 2024 Buybacks Decrease 4.0% from Q2 2024, as 12-month Expenditure Increases 4.7% from Previous Year; Earnings Per Share Increases from Buybacks Improves; Buybacks Tax Results in a 0.42% Reduction in Q3 Operating Earnings and 0.48% Reduction in Q3 Earnings."
- S&P Global (2023). "S&P 500 Q4 2022 Buybacks Tick up, As 2022 Sets A Record; Proforma Buyback Tax Would Have Reduced Operating Earnings by 0.51% for 2022."
- S&P Global (2024). "S&P 500 Q4 2023 Buybacks Increase 18.0% Compared to Q3, Full Year 2023 Shows Decline of 13.8% from 2022 Levels, Earnings Per Share Impact Continues to Decline; Buybacks Tax Reduced Q4 Operating Earnings by 0.44% and 2023 by 0.40%."
