Amid Tech Volatility, These 3 Stocks Are Up & Boosting Buybacks

Since the end of October, technology stocks have seen significant volatility. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLK) reached a split-adjusted all-time high of around $152 on Oct. 29. However, the fund fell over 10% from that level by Nov. 20.

After continuing to move up and down over recent weeks, XLK has rebounded to around $145 as of the Dec. 22 close. A general sense of overvaluation among some of the top names in tech, as well as renewed “AI bubble” fears, has led to this volatility.

Below, we highlight three stocks outside of tech and AI that are demonstrating resilience. All three recently announced substantial buyback programs, a sign of management confidence going forward.

WM Doubles Buyback Capacity, Investors Buy In

Amid tech volatility, shares of Waste Management (NYSE: WM) are performing well. Since Oct. 29, the stock is up more than 11%, putting its year-to-date return just above 10%.

Waste Management released some encouraging news on Dec. 15, approving a new $3 billion share buyback program.

This represents a doubling of Waste Management’s buyback capacity, as the new program replaces the $1.5 billion in remaining authorization under its previous buyback program.

Overall, the company’s new buyback capacity is equal to around 3.4% of its $88 billion market capitalization. That is a fairly substantial figure, giving Waste Management the ability to notably reduce its outstanding share count over time.

The company also announced that it plans to strongly increase its dividend by 14.5%. Although the firm has yet to officially declare its next quarterly dividend, it says that it expects to pay an annual dividend of $3.78 in 2026. This would give Waste Management a very solid indicated dividend yield of 1.7%, substantially above the 1.1% yield offered by the S&P 500 Index.

RCL: Shares, Earnings and Buybacks are On the Rise

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL) has also performed impressively as of late, rising around 7% since Oct. 29. This gives the stock a total return of approximately 32% in 2025.

Investors bought Royal Caribbean in droves after the company announced a new share buyback program worth $2 billion on Dec. 10. The stock rose nearly 5% that day and gained another 7.4% the next day. The program is equal to 2.4% of RCL's market capitalization.

Notably, this buyback program is double the size of RCL’s previous $1 billion authorization, which the company recently exhausted. Through the new program, RCL is signaling confidence in its business outlook. 

With one quarter left to report, RCL expects its full-year 2025 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to come in between $15.58 and $15.63.

This would represent an approximately 32% growth rate.

Management believes that in 2026, full-year adjusted EPS will “have a $17 handle on it." Although not official guidance, this means that RCL expects the figure to come in between $17 and $17.99. This would represent a decelerating but still solid growth rate between 9% and 15% versus 2025 estimates.

BCO Boosts Buyback Capacity to 15% of Market Cap

Last up is Brink's (NYSE: BCO), the company known for using armored vehicles to transport cash, precious metals, jewels, and other valuable items. Shares have delivered a total return of 30% in 2025 and are up 6% since Oct. 29.

On Dec. 11, Brink's announced a new share buyback program worth $750 million. Overall, the authorization represents a whopping 15% of BCO’s approximately $5 billion market capitalization.

Brink’s believes the momentum in its business is strong and expects to increase its free cash flow (FCF) generation to support this new authorization.

Over the last 12 months (LTM), Brink's generated FCF of $476 million, a huge 82% increase versus the same period a year ago.

Importantly, the company’s authorization only lasts through the end of 2027. Thus, Brinks will need to increase its buyback spending to $375 million per year to use this full capacity. That would be around 49% higher than its $252 million in LTM buyback spending.

BCO Could Be a Stock to Watch in 2026

These three names are increasing their efforts to return capital to shareholders. Among this list, Brinks is particularly interesting due to the massive size of its buyback program and the huge spike in its FCF growth. If operating momentum and cash generation continue improving, the buyback could become a real driver of per-share results. If not, the authorization will remain more of an option than an engine. Either way, in a market defined by fast-moving narratives, these buyback announcements offer investors something more concrete to track.

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