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NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today announced the preliminary S&P 500® stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q3 2025.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks is available at https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/indices/equity/sp-500/#overview.
Key Highlights:
"Companies dipped their cash back in the buyback market for Q3 after withdrawing in the second quarter over uncertainty, tariffs and economic policy and following the record Q1 2025 level. The increase expenditure of 6.2% after a 20.1% decrease shows the continuing cautious approach corporations have to cash outlays. Participation in buybacks ticked down to 66.6% from the Q2 67.6% rate and still pales the Q1 2025 76.8% participation rate. Buyback concentration from the top 20 issues decreased to 49.5% from the prior 51.3%, remaining higher than the historical 47.8% rate. Of note were the top four: Apple, NVIDIA, Alphabet and Meta Platforms, which accounted for over 22% ($55.2 billion) of the S&P 500's Q3 2025 total buybacks.
Continued buybacks resulted in share-count-reduction, which has also fueled higher issue level earnings-per-share, as 17.1% of the issues posted at least a 4% reduction in their year-over-year share count, increasing their EPS by at least 4%. The trend, which is contingent on earnings and cash-flow as well as market price levels, is expected to continue short-term, providing additional support for issue level earnings-per-share.
For the fourth quarter, policy direction has started to clear up, but remains volatile, resulting in corporate uncertainty continuing, and limiting discretionary buyback expenditures. Buybacks for the fourth quarter appear to have continued to trend up at a slow pace while remaining shy of their Q1 2025 record level.
For the full-year 2025, shareholder returns via buybacks and dividends from S&P 500 companies are expected to easily set a record expenditure, posting a near double-digit gain for buybacks and a mid-single-digit gain for dividends. The initial 2026 outlook for buybacks shows companies planning to increase their expenditure, with their expected cash-flow supporting their plans. Dividends are expected to post another record payment for the year, with the question being by how much," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
1% Buyback Excise Tax:
The 1% excise tax on net buybacks reduced Q3 2025 operating earnings by 0.36%, down from Q2 2025's 0.39% and down from the 0.42% for Q3 2024. The 12-month impact was 0.40%, down from the 12-month September 2024's 0.45%, as the tax on As Reported GAAP earnings impact decreased to 0.41% from Q2 2025's 0.42% and to 0.43% from 0.50% for the 12-month period.
Silverblatt added: "The 1% tax continues to be a manageable expense and has not impacted overall buybacks. At this point it does not appear that an increased buyback tax is on the Washington table, but things could change quickly as the Continuing Resolution bill expires on January 30, 2026. Given the current corporate sensitivity to costs, a buyback tax rate of 2% was seen as impacting both buybacks and the EPS impact of share-count-reduction. Under any potential increased tax, some of the buyback expenditures may shift to dividends. However, any shift was not seen as being on a-dollar-for-dollar basis as dividends remain a long-term pure cash-flow item which must be incorporated into corporate budgets."
Q3 2025 GICS® Sector Analysis:
Information Technology maintained its lead in buybacks as its expenditure's increased 5.2%, representing 28.4% of all buybacks for the quarter. Q3 2025 expenditures increased to $70.6 billion, compared to Q2 2025's $67.1 billion (and $80.2 billion in Q1 2025), and were up 10.3% from Q3 2024's $64.0 billion expenditure. For the 12-months ending September 2025, the sector increased its expenditure by 14.5% to $281.6 billion, representing 27.6% of all S&P 500 buybacks, compared to the prior 12-month period's $245.9 billion which represented 26.8% of all buybacks.
Financials increased buybacks by 26.3% for Q3 2025 as it collectively spent $65.3 billion on buybacks, which accounted for 26.2% of all S&P 500 buybacks. This was up for the quarter compared to Q2 2025's expenditure of $51.7 billion, and up 48.2% from Q3 2024's $44.1 billion. For the 12-months ending September 2025, Financials spent $218.6 billion, up from the prior period's $161.8 billion.
Health Care increased their buyback expenditures in Q3 2025, by 32.2%, the largest of any sector, as it spent $21.0 billion, up from the Q2 2025 $15.8 billion, as it represented 8.4% of the buybacks, as the 12-month September 2025 expenditure was $89.3 billion, up 20.2% from the prior 12-month's $74.4 billion.
Materials decreased its Q3 2025 expenditure by 21.0%, spending $3.6 billion, compared to the Q2 2025 expenditure of $4.6 billion, and was down 18.3% from Q3 2024's $4.5 billion expenditure. For the 12-months ending September 2025, the sector spent $18.4 billion, down from the prior 12-month period's $17.8 billion.
Issues:
The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q3 2025 were:
For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.
S&P Dow Jones Indices | ||||||||
S&P 500, $ U.S. BILLIONS | (preliminary in bold) | |||||||
PERIOD | MARKET | OPERATING | AS REPORTED | DIVIDEND & | ||||
VALUE | EARNINGS | EARNINGS | DIVIDENDS | BUYBACKS | DIVIDEND | BUYBACK | BUYBACK | |
$ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | YIELD | YIELD | YIELD | |
12 Mo Sep,'25 Prelim. | $57,047 | $2,164.58 | $1,994.76 | $664.90 | $1,020.27 | 1.17 % | 1.79 % | 2.95 % |
12 Mo Sep,'24 | $48,701 | $1,900.66 | $1,637.95 | $616.16 | $918.40 | 1.27 % | 1.89 % | 3.15 % |
2024 | $49,805 | $1,966.53 | $1,771.24 | $629.62 | $942.55 | 1.26 % | 1.89 % | 3.16 % |
2023 | $40,039 | $1,787.36 | $1,610.73 | $588.23 | $795.16 | 1.47 % | 1.99 % | 3.46 % |
2022 | $32,133 | $1,656.66 | $1,453.43 | $564.57 | $922.68 | 1.76 % | 2.87 % | 4.63 % |
2021 | $40,356 | $1,762.75 | $1,675.22 | $511.23 | $881.72 | 1.27 % | 2.18 % | 3.45 % |
2020 | $31,659 | $1,019.04 | $784.21 | $483.18 | $519.76 | 1.53 % | 1.64 % | 3.17 % |
2019 | $26,760 | $1,304.76 | $1,158.22 | $485.48 | $728.74 | 1.81 % | 2.72 % | 4.54 % |
2018 | $21,027 | $1,281.66 | $1,119.43 | $456.31 | $806.41 | 2.17 % | 3.84 % | 6.01 % |
9/30/2025 Estimate | $57,047 | $617.34 | $550.73 | $168.08 | $249.00 | 1.17 % | 1.79 % | 2.95 % |
6/30/2025 | $52,501 | $541.59 | $498.87 | $165.16 | $234.57 | 1.25 % | 1.90 % | 3.15 % |
3/31/2025 | $50,166 | $487.33 | $456.65 | $164.10 | $293.45 | 1.28 % | 1.99 % | 3.27 % |
12/31/2024 | $49,805 | $518.32 | $488.51 | $167.56 | $243.24 | 1.26 % | 1.89 % | 3.16 % |
9/30/2024 | $48,701 | $499.98 | $439.39 | $157.04 | $226.56 | 1.27 % | 1.89 % | 3.15 % |
6/28/2024 | $45,843 | $489.95 | $397.69 | $153.41 | $235.93 | 1.32 % | 1.91 % | 3.23 % |
3/28/2024 | $44,078 | $458.28 | $400.90 | $151.61 | $236.82 | 1.35 % | 1.85 % | 3.20 % |
12/31/2023 | $40,039 | $452.44 | $399.98 | $154.10 | $219.09 | 1.47 % | 1.99 % | 3.46 % |
9/30/2023 | $35,938 | $437.90 | $399.35 | $144.18 | $185.62 | 1.61 % | 2.19 % | 3.81 % |
6/30/2023 | $37,162 | $457.93 | $405.66 | $143.20 | $174.92 | 1.55 % | 2.19 % | 3.74 % |
3/31/2023 | $34,342 | $439.08 | $404.57 | $146.76 | $215.53 | 1.67 % | 2.50 % | 4.17 % |
12/31/2022 | $32,133 | $421.55 | $331.50 | $146.07 | $211.19 | 1.76 % | 2.87 % | 4.63 % |
9/30/2022 | $30,119 | $422.94 | $373.04 | $140.34 | $210.84 | 1.83 % | 3.26 % | 5.09 % |
S&P Dow Jones Indices | |||
S&P 500 proforma net buyback tax impact | |||
TAX | TAX % OF | TAX % OF | |
$ BILLIONS | OPERATING | AS REPORTED | |
Q3 2025 | $2.25 | 0.36 % | 0.41 % |
Q2 2025 | $2.13 | 0.39 % | 0.42 % |
Q1 2025 | $2.43 | 0.50 % | 0.53 % |
Q4 2024 | $1.93 | 0.37 % | 0.39 % |
Q3 2024 | $2.11 | 0.42 % | 0.48 % |
Q2 2024 | $2.20 | 0.45 % | 0.49 % |
2023 | $7.47 | 0.40 % | 0.45 % |
2022 proforma | $8.47 | 0.51 % | 0.58 % |
2021 proforma | $7.93 | 0.45 % | 0.47 % |
S&P Dow Jones Indices | |||||||
S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS | |||||||
SECTOR $ MILLIONS | Q3,'25 | Q2,'25 | Q3'24 | 12MoSep,'25 | 12MoSep,'24 | 5-YEARS | 10-YEARS |
Consumer Discretionary | $14,279 | $14,188 | $20,605 | $68,529 | $83,536 | $396,494 | $768,342 |
Consumer Staples | $6,964 | $6,626 | $7,734 | $40,284 | $39,240 | $180,932 | $369,907 |
Energy | $12,744 | $12,668 | $18,313 | $59,396 | $65,200 | $255,192 | $329,442 |
Financials | $65,305 | $51,720 | $44,054 | $218,578 | $161,844 | $814,996 | $1,464,662 |
Healthcare | $20,958 | $15,850 | $16,906 | $89,339 | $74,441 | $409,399 | $810,044 |
Industrials | $20,535 | $21,332 | $15,852 | $91,605 | $76,647 | $360,967 | $675,545 |
Information Technology | $70,601 | $67,131 | $63,981 | $281,637 | $245,911 | $1,247,248 | $2,170,208 |
Materials | $3,639 | $4,610 | $4,454 | $18,359 | $17,849 | $102,577 | $158,783 |
Real Estate | $585 | $808 | $204 | $3,005 | $1,795 | $12,147 | $24,678 |
Communication Services | $32,839 | $38,708 | $33,818 | $146,145 | $148,137 | $656,597 | $781,452 |
Utilities | $555 | $929 | $636 | $3,391 | $3,797 | $13,179 | $22,640 |
TOTAL | $249,004 | $234,570 | $226,557 | $1,020,268 | $918,398 | $4,449,728 | $7,575,704 |
SECTOR BUYBACK MAKEUP % | Q3,'25 | Q2,'25 | Q3'24 | 12MoSep,'25 | 12MoSep,'24 | 5-YEARS | 10-YEARS |
Consumer Discretionary | 5.73 % | 6.05 % | 9.09 % | 6.72 % | 9.10 % | 8.91 % | 10.14 % |
Consumer Staples | 2.80 % | 2.82 % | 3.41 % | 3.95 % | 4.27 % | 4.07 % | 4.88 % |
Energy | 5.12 % | 5.40 % | 8.08 % | 5.82 % | 7.10 % | 5.74 % | 4.35 % |
Financials | 26.23 % | 22.05 % | 19.44 % | 21.42 % | 17.62 % | 18.32 % | 19.33 % |
Healthcare | 8.42 % | 6.76 % | 7.46 % | 8.76 % | 8.11 % | 9.20 % | 10.69 % |
Industrials | 8.25 % | 9.09 % | 7.00 % | 8.98 % | 8.35 % | 8.11 % | 8.92 % |
Information Technology | 28.35 % | 28.62 % | 28.24 % | 27.60 % | 26.78 % | 28.03 % | 28.65 % |
Materials | 1.46 % | 1.97 % | 1.97 % | 1.80 % | 1.94 % | 2.31 % | 2.10 % |
Real Estate | 0.23 % | 0.34 % | 0.09 % | 0.29 % | 0.20 % | 0.27 % | 0.33 % |
Communication Services | 13.19 % | 16.50 % | 14.93 % | 14.32 % | 16.13 % | 14.76 % | 10.32 % |
Utilities | 0.22 % | 0.40 % | 0.28 % | 0.33 % | 0.41 % | 0.30 % | 0.30 % |
TOTAL | 100.00 % | 100.00 % | 100.00 % | 100.00 % | 100.00 % | 100.00 % | 100.00 % |
S&P Dow Jones Indices | ||||||||||
S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q3 2025 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS | ||||||||||
Company | Ticker | Sector | Q3 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q3 2025 | 12-Months | 12-Months | 5-Year | 10-Year | Indicated |
Buybacks | Buybacks | Buybacks | Sep,'25 | Sep,'25 | Buybacks | Buybacks | Dividend | |||
$ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | |||
Apple | AAPL | Information Technology | $20,373 | $23,589 | $25,361 | $96,671 | $100,390 | $468,194 | $755,231 | $15,434 |
NVIDIA | NVDA | Information Technology | $14,885 | $11,568 | $12,676 | $51,753 | $34,463 | $108,676 | $115,125 | $976 |
Alphabet | GOOGL | Communication Services | $11,504 | $13,638 | $15,291 | $55,761 | $62,862 | $281,410 | $342,445 | $4,886 |
Meta Platforms | META | Communication Services | $8,462 | $14,277 | $12,361 | $44,233 | $48,203 | $195,709 | $230,350 | $4,555 |
JPMorgan | JPM | Financials | $8,293 | $7,506 | $6,361 | $27,628 | $16,804 | $73,551 | $149,763 | $16,499 |
Wells Fargo | WFC | Financials | $6,000 | $3,016 | $3,435 | $16,516 | $17,798 | $64,825 | $135,247 | $5,766 |
Microsoft | MSFT | Information Technology | $5,650 | $4,546 | $4,107 | $19,963 | $16,530 | $116,907 | $199,882 | $27,057 |
Bank of America | BAC | Financials | $5,300 | $5,302 | $3,534 | $18,658 | $10,380 | $63,265 | $136,990 | $7,632 |
Exxon Mobil | XOM | Energy | $5,126 | $4,964 | $5,512 | $20,674 | $18,505 | $67,681 | $71,685 | $17,565 |
Johnson Controls Internat'l | JCI | Industrials | $5,097 | $312 | $377 | $6,100 | $1,279 | $10,858 | $20,531 | $1,047 |
Citigroup | C | Financials | $5,005 | $2,015 | $987 | $10,499 | $1,954 | $25,741 | $78,463 | $4,418 |
Visa | V | Financials | $4,954 | $4,794 | $5,867 | $18,597 | $16,921 | $68,278 | $106,772 | $4,552 |
Salesforce | CRM | Information Technology | $3,928 | $2,237 | $1,285 | $8,874 | $9,445 | $28,247 | $28,247 | $1,587 |
Mastercard | MA | Financials | $3,335 | $2,291 | $2,935 | $11,925 | $9,580 | $44,752 | $68,175 | $2,873 |
Charles Schwab | SCHW | Financials | $2,748 | $333 | $0 | $4,581 | $0 | $10,818 | $14,038 | $1,843 |
QUALCOMM | QCOM | Information Technology | $2,681 | $3,118 | $1,438 | $9,906 | $5,053 | $25,936 | $59,185 | $3,840 |
T-Mobile US | TMUS | Communication Services | $2,571 | $2,585 | $596 | $12,634 | $8,998 | $36,437 | $58,467 | $1,974 |
HCA Healthcare | HCA | Health Care | $2,498 | $2,505 | $1,795 | $9,209 | $5,252 | $32,577 | $41,392 | $472 |
Chevron | CVX | Energy | $2,482 | $2,733 | $4,714 | $13,423 | $13,932 | $48,057 | $54,177 | $13,164 |
American Express | AXP | Financials | $2,351 | $1,356 | $1,935 | $5,946 | $5,890 | $25,742 | $43,186 | $1,780 |
Top 20 | $123,243 | $112,685 | $110,567 | $463,551 | $404,239 | $1,797,661 | $2,709,351 | $137,919 | ||
S&P 500 | $249,004 | $234,570 | $226,557 | $1,020,268 | $918,398 | $4,449,728 | $7,575,704 | $674,035 | ||
Top 20 % of S&P 500 | 49.49 % | 48.04 % | 48.80 % | 45.43 % | 44.02 % | 40.40 % | 35.76 % | 20.46 % | ||
Gross values are not adjusted for float | ||||||||||
S&P Dow Jones Indices | ||||
S&P 500 Q3 2025 Buyback Report | ||||
SECTOR | DIVIDEND | BUYBACK | COMBINED | |
YIELD | YIELD | YIELD | ||
Consumer Discretionary | 0.63 % | 1.13 % | 1.76 % | |
Consumer Staples | 2.56 % | 1.44 % | 4.00 % | |
Energy | 3.43 % | 3.63 % | 7.06 % | |
Financials | 1.42 % | 2.80 % | 4.21 % | |
HealthCare | 1.71 % | 1.60 % | 3.31 % | |
Industrials | 1.25 % | 1.92 % | 3.18 % | |
Information Technology | 0.53 % | 1.41 % | 1.94 % | |
Materials | 1.84 % | 1.84 % | 3.69 % | |
Real Estate | 3.44 % | 0.28 % | 3.72 % | |
Communications Services | 0.87 % | 3.16 % | 4.03 % | |
Utilities | 2.88 % | 0.26 % | 3.15 % | |
S&P 500 | 1.19 % | 1.81 % | 2.99 % | |
Uses full values (unadjusted for float) | ||||
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q3,'25 | ||||
Share Count Changes | ||
(Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS) | >=4% | <=-4% |
Q3 2025 | 5.00 % | 17.14 % |
Q2 2025 | 6.63 % | 17.27 % |
Q1 2025 | 5.80 % | 13.80 % |
Q4 2024 | 6.63 % | 12.05 % |
Q3 2024 | 5.01 % | 13.63 % |
Q2 2024 | 5.04 % | 12.70 % |
Q1 2024 | 4.62 % | 13.25 % |
Q4 2023 | 3.81 % | 12.63 % |
Q3 2023 | 4.60 % | 13.80 % |
Q2 2023 | 4.22 % | 16.27 % |
Q1 2023 | 4.02 % | 18.47 % |
Q4 2022 | 5.01 % | 19.44 % |
Q3 2022 | 7.21 % | 21.24 % |
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S&P Dow Jones Indices:
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Senior Index Analyst
(+1) 973 769 2306
[email protected]
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