S&P 500 Buybacks Set A Record High

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    <br /> S&P 500 Buybacks Set A Record High<br />

    S&P 500 Buybacks Set A Record High

    S&P 500 Q3 2021 buybacks were $234.6 billion, up 18.0% from Q2 2021, up 130.5% from Q3 2020, and up 5.2% from the prior Q4 2018 record of $223.0 billion

    PR Newswire


    NEW YORK

    ,

    Dec. 21, 2021

    /PRNewswire/ — S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”) announced today preliminary

    S&P 500

    ®

    stock buyback, or share repurchases, data for Q3 2021.

    Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at

    www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500

    .



    Key Takeaways:


    • Q3 2021 share repurchases were

      $234.6 billion

      ,

      increasing 18.0% from Q2 2021’s

      $198.8 billion

      expenditure and up 130.5% from Q3 2020′

      $101.8 billion

      .

    • 309 companies reported buybacks of at least

      $5 million

      for the quarter

      , up from 294 in Q2 2021, and up from 190 in Q3 2020; 371 issues did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 360 in Q2 2020 and up from 290 in Q3 2020.

    • Buybacks remained top heavy with the top 20 issues accounting for 53.8% of Q3 2021 buybacks,

      down from Q2 2021’s 55.7%, down from the dominating 77.4% in Q3 2020, and up from the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.

    • For the 12-month

      September 2021

      period, buybacks were

      $742.2 billion

      , a 21.8% increase from

      $609.4 billion

      in the 12-month

      June 2021

      period

      , and up 30.0% from

      $570.8 billion

      in the 12-month

      September 2020

      period.

    • Buybacks are expected to continue at a higher level for Q4 2021

      as companies continue to cover employee options with discretionary purchases resulting in an increase in share count reduction.

    • 7.4% of companies reduced share counts used for EPS by at least 4% year-over-year

      , up from Q2 2021’s 5.4%, and down from Q3 2020’s 9.6% period, and significantly down from Q3 2019’s 22.8% rate.

    • S&P 500 Q3 2021 dividends increased 5.4% to a record

      $130.0 billion


      from Q2 2021’s

      $123.4 billion

      and were 12.5% greater than the

      $115.5 billion

      in Q3 2020. For the 12-month

      September 2021

      period, dividends were

      $498.9 billion

      , up 2.3% on an aggregate basis from the 12-month

      September 2020

      period’s

      $487.9 billion

      .

    • Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends was a record

      $364.7 billion

      in Q3 2021,

      up 13.2% from Q2 2021’s

      $322.2 billion

      and up 67.8% from Q3 2020’s

      $217.3 billion

      .

    • Total shareholder return for the 12-month

      September 2021


      period increased to

      $1.24 trillion

      from June 2021’s

      $1.09 trillion

      and September 2020’s

      $1.06 trillion

      .

    “While companies bought back shares in record numbers in Q3 2021, their expenditures appear cautious when measured against their earnings and market value,” said


    Howard Silverblatt

    , Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

    “Additionally, the impact on share count remains significantly lower compared to previous years as higher stock prices have reduced the number of shares companies can buy back with their current expenditures. For the quarter, 248 companies reduced their share counts from Q2 2021, up from 238 in the prior quarter (90 in Q3 2020), but still far from the 322 in pre-COVID Q1 2020, as the year-over-year significant EPS boost from fewer shares remains low at 37 for Q3 2021 compared to 115 for the Q3 2019 period.



    Remainder of 2021 Outlook, and into 2022:

    Silverblatt added, “Companies are expected to increase expenditures, which is needed for the higher priced shares, but not enough to impact share count. Q4 2021 is expected to surpass the Q3 2021

    $235 billion

    record, as is 2021, which would replace the annual record of

    $806 billion

    set in 2018. At this point, a slight market downturn or correction could also see additional buying, as companies with strong (and expected strong) cash-flow stock up on shares. The proposed 1% buyback tax is not expected to materially impact buybacks, as the average daily high/low spread is near that mark (0.97%), showing that timing (or dollar averaging) is just as important.”



    Q3 2021 GICS® Sector Analysis



    :


    Information Technology

    continued to lead in buybacks, as Financials continue to gain (prior to COVID they were within 1% of each other).  In Q3 2021, IT’s share declined to 28.2% of all S&P 500 buybacks compared to Q2 2021’s 31.6%, and was down from Q3 2020’s 48.9%, as expenditures increased (5.3%) to

    $66.1 billion

    from the prior quarter’s

    $62.8 billion

    and was 32.8% higher than the Q3 2020 expenditure of

    $49.7 billion

    . For the 12-month

    September 2021

    period, the sector spent

    $241.3 billion

    , representing 32.5% of all S&P buybacks, up from the prior 12-month period of

    $198.2 billion

    , which represented 34.7% of all buybacks.  For the 5-years, the sector spent

    $1.65 trillion

    , representing 28.4% of the expenditures.


    Financial buybacks

    increased 48.2%, spending

    $61.9 billion

    in Q3 2021 representing 26.4% of all buybacks, up from the Q2 2021

    $41.8 billion

    , which accounted for 21.0% of the buybacks. Financial sector buybacks were 410% higher than the Q3 2020

    $12.1 billion

    expenditure, when the Fed limited buybacks. For the 12-month period, the group spent

    $152.7 billion

    , up from the prior period of

    $117.3 billion

    .


    Consumer Staples

    decrease their buyback expenditures, down 8.9% to

    $16.2 billion

    , from the prior quarter’s

    $17.8 billion

    and up from the Q3 2020

    $7.6 billion

    .  As a percentage of all buybacks, the sector increased declined 6.9% of all buybacks from the prior quarter’s 8.9%.


    Consumer Staples

    decrease their buyback expenditures, down 6.5% to

    $8.3 billion

    , from the prior quarter’s

    $8.9 billion

    and up from the Q3 2020

    $4.2 billion

    .  As a percentage of all buybacks, the sector increased declined 3.6% of all buybacks from the prior quarter’s 4.5%.



    Issues:

    The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q3 2021 are:


    • Apple (AAPL)

      continued to be the poster child for buybacks as it again spent the most of any issue, with the Q3 2021 expenditure ranked eighth highest in S&P history. For the quarter, the company spent

      $20.5 billion

      , down 20.1% from Q2 2021’s

      $25.6 billion

      . Apple holds 17 of the top 20 record quarters (QUALCOM holds #6, T-Mobile holds #18 and International Business Machines holds #20). For the 12-month period, Apple spent

      $92.5 billion

      on buybacks, up from the prior period’s

      $76.0 billion

      . Over the five-year period, they have spent

      $348.3 billion

      and

      $487.6 billion

      over the ten-year period.

    • Alphabet (GOOG/L)

      was next:

      $15.0 billion

      for Q3 2021, up from

      $8.4 billion

      in Q2 2021; the 12-month

      September 2021

      expenditure was

      $31.5 billion

      versus

      $8.7 billion

      for the 12-months ending

      September 2020

      .

    • Meta Platforms, formerly




      Facebook (FB)

      :

      $12.6 billion

      for Q3 2021, down from

      $12.8 billion

      in Q2 2021; the 12-month expenditure was

      $44.7 billion

      versus

      $29.3 billion

      .

    • Oracle (ORCL)

      :

      $9.9 billion

      for Q3 2021, up from

      $4.2 billion

      in Q2 2021; the 12-month expenditure was

      $17.9 billion

      versus

      $14.5 billion

      .

    • Microsoft (MSFT):


      $8.8 billion

      for Q3 2021, up from

      $8.0 billion

      in Q2 2021; the 12-month expenditure was

      $25.0 billion

      versus

      $19.8 billion

      .

    For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit

    www.spdji.com

    .



    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,21


    $36,538



    $1,604.29



    $1,483.50


    $498.95



    $742.21


    1.37%



    2.03%



    3.40%


    12 Mo Sep,20


    $27,868


    $1,021.75


    $813.49


    $487.91


    $570.75


    1.75%


    2.05%


    3.80%


    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%


    9/30/2021


    $36,538



    $441.51



    $410.46


    $130.04



    $234.64


    1.37%



    2.03%



    3.40%


    6/30/2021


    $36,325


    $439.95


    $409.02


    $123.38


    $198.84


    1.33%


    1.68%


    3.01%


    3/31/2021


    $33,619


    $401.19


    $388.84


    $123.91


    $178.13


    1.43%


    1.48%


    2.91%


    12/31/2020


    $31,659


    $321.81


    $265.00


    $121.62


    $130.59


    1.53%


    1.64%


    3.17%


    9/30/2020


    $27,868


    $314.06


    $273.29


    $115.54


    $101.79


    1.75%


    2.05%


    3.80%


    6/30/2020


    $25,637


    $221.53


    $147.44


    $119.04


    $88.66


    1.93%


    2.52%


    4.45%


    3/31/2020


    $21,424


    $161.64


    $98.48


    $126.98


    $198.72


    2.31%


    3.37%


    5.68%


    12/31/2019


    $26,760


    $324.52


    $294.29


    $126.35


    $181.58


    1.81%


    2.72%


    4.54%


    9/30/2019


    $24,707


    $330.42


    $282.12


    $123.12


    $175.89


    1.94%


    3.12%


    5.06%


    6/28/2019


    $24,423


    $333.26


    $290.00


    $118.68


    $165.46


    1.93%


    3.27%


    5.20%


    3/29/2019


    $23,619


    $316.56


    $291.82


    $117.33


    $205.81


    1.97%


    3.49%


    5.45%


    12/31/2018


    $21,027


    $293.82


    $242.91


    $119.81


    $222.98


    2.17%


    3.84%


    6.01%


    9/30/2018


    $24,579


    $349.04


    $306.70


    $115.72


    $203.76


    1.81%


    2.93%


    4.75%


    6/30/2018


    $23,036


    $327.53


    $288.55


    $111.60


    $190.62


    1.89%


    2.80%


    4.69%


    3/29/2018


    $22,496


    $311.26


    $281.28


    $109.18


    $189.05


    1.90%


    2.56%


    4.46%


    12/29/2017


    $22,821


    $288.93


    $230.12


    $109.46


    $136.97


    1.84%


    2.28%


    4.12%


    9/29/2017


    $21,579


    $268.35


    $243.68


    $105.45


    $129.17


    1.92%


    2.40%


    4.32%



    S&P Dow Jones Indices



    S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS



    SECTOR $ MILLIONS



    Q3,’21



    Q2,’21



    Q3,’20



    12MoSep,’21



    12MoSep,’20



    5-YEARS



    10-YEARS



    Q4,’18



    Q2,’20



    (high)



    (recent low)



    Consumer Discretionary


    $20,553


    $19,193


    $3,247


    $64,528


    $37,270


    $344,503


    $737,907


    $25,652


    $1,317



    Consumer Staples


    $8,337


    $8,912


    $4,231


    $35,599


    $20,452


    $176,356


    $395,295


    $9,588


    $1,514



    Energy


    $2,974


    $1,615


    $66


    $5,410


    $9,012


    $72,291


    $222,239


    $8,698


    $60



    Financials


    $61,927


    $41,777


    $12,101


    $152,693


    $117,316


    $699,756


    $1,065,765


    $45,641


    $8,346



    Healthcare


    $16,170


    $17,754


    $7,551


    $69,336


    $59,105


    $394,836


    $730,856


    $31,336


    $10,706



    Industrials


    $17,567


    $14,894


    $3,442


    $53,241


    $36,212


    $286,599


    $588,119


    $23,026


    $1,816



    Information Technology


    $66,060


    $62,758


    $49,728


    $241,262


    $198,198


    $1,037,980


    $1,648,996


    $61,298


    $36,900



    Materials


    $5,252


    $4,624


    $785


    $16,534


    $8,637


    $60,508


    $127,528


    $5,857


    $184



    Real Estate


    $272


    $42


    $406


    $1,473


    $2,502


    $13,548


    $14,003


    $1,480


    $204



    Communication Services


    $35,230


    $27,268


    $17,316


    $100,860


    $78,552


    $224,708


    $261,355


    $9,556


    $27,548



    Utilities


    $299


    $7


    $2,914


    $1,272


    $3,496


    $10,131


    $17,755


    $850


    $67



    TOTAL



    $234,640



    $198,843



    $101,786



    $742,209



    $570,753



    $3,321,214



    $5,809,820



    $222,980



    $88,661



    SECTOR BUYBACK MAKEUP %



    Q3,’21



    Q2,’21



    Q3,’20



    12MoSep,’21



    12MoSep,’20



    5-YEARS



    10-YEARS



    Q4,’18



    Q2,’20



    Consumer Discretionary


    8.76%


    9.65%


    3.19%


    8.69%


    6.53%


    10.37%


    12.70%


    11.50%


    1.49%



    Consumer Staples


    3.55%


    4.48%


    4.16%


    4.80%


    3.58%


    5.31%


    6.80%


    4.30%


    1.71%



    Energy


    1.27%


    0.81%


    0.06%


    0.73%


    1.58%


    2.18%


    3.83%


    3.90%


    0.07%



    Financials


    26.39%


    21.01%


    11.89%


    20.57%


    20.55%


    21.07%


    18.34%


    20.47%


    9.41%



    Healthcare


    6.89%


    8.93%


    7.42%


    9.34%


    10.36%


    11.89%


    12.58%


    14.05%


    12.07%



    Industrials


    7.49%


    7.49%


    3.38%


    7.17%


    6.34%


    8.63%


    10.12%


    10.33%


    2.05%



    Information Technology


    28.15%


    31.56%


    48.85%


    32.51%


    34.73%


    31.25%


    28.38%


    27.49%


    41.62%



    Materials


    2.24%


    2.33%


    0.77%


    2.23%


    1.51%


    1.82%


    2.20%


    2.63%


    0.21%



    Real Estate


    0.12%


    0.02%


    0.40%


    0.20%


    0.44%


    0.41%


    0.24%


    0.66%


    0.23%



    Communication Services


    15.01%


    13.71%


    17.01%


    13.59%


    13.76%


    6.77%


    4.50%


    4.29%


    31.07%



    Utilities


    0.13%


    0.00%


    2.86%


    0.17%


    0.61%


    0.31%


    0.31%


    0.38%


    0.08%



    TOTAL


    100.00%


    100.00%


    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 2021 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS



    Company



    Ticker



    Sector



    Q3 2021



    Q2 2021



    Q3 20220



    12-Months



    12-Months



    5-Year



    10-Year



    Indicated



    Buybacks



    Buybacks



    Buybacks



    Sep,’21



    Sep,’20



    Buybacks



    Buybacks



    Dividend



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million



    $ Million


    Apple


    AAPL


    Information Technology


    $20,449


    $25,595


    $17,587


    $92,527


    $75,992


    $348,272


    $487,642


    $15,312


    Alphabet


    GOOGL


    Communication Services


    $15,033


    $8,434


    $2,725


    $31,532


    $8,710


    $66,167


    $69,998


    $0


    Meta Platforms


    FB


    Communication Services


    $12,610


    $12,796


    $7,897


    $44,705


    $29,343


    $100,267


    $105,740


    $0


    Oracle


    ORCL


    Information Technology


    $9,914


    $4,209


    $114


    $17,856


    $14,510


    $87,000


    $98,051


    $8,032


    Microsoft


    MSFT


    Information Technology


    $8,815


    $8,045


    $5,423


    $24,992


    $19,809


    $100,488


    $147,180


    $6,057


    JPMorgan Chase


    JPM


    Financials


    $7,684


    $7,177


    $6,743


    $28,326


    $24,799


    $95,727


    $146,272


    $18,637


    Berkshire Hathaway


    BRK.B


    Financials


    $7,632


    $5,980


    $8,973


    $29,186


    $17,755


    $51,094


    $51,161


    $0


    Bank of America


    BAC


    Financials


    $5,318


    $1,593


    $9


    $7,746


    $11,124


    $69,626


    $104,233


    $3,285


    Charter Communications


    CHTR


    Communication Services


    $5,286


    $6,194


    $0


    $16,286


    $13,268


    $84,448


    $108,960


    $11,953


    Union Pacific


    UNP


    Industrials


    $3,666


    $3,516


    $3,361


    $15,183


    $9,173


    $46,152


    $47,093


    $0


    Lowe’s


    LOW


    Consumer Discretionary


    $3,628


    $3,018


    $30


    $9,278


    $3,347


    $27,955


    $36,004


    $6,386


    Home Depot,


    HD


    Consumer Discretionary


    $3,469


    $3,117


    $0


    $10,374


    $3,847


    $38,438


    $69,917


    $7,018


    Morgan Stanley


    MS


    Financials


    $3,284


    $884


    $1


    $4,684


    $2,248


    $17,436


    $38,132


    $1,687


    Procter & Gamble


    PG


    Consumer Staples


    $3,071


    $2,912


    $1


    $7,779


    $3,333


    $53,366


    $67,956


    $4,135


    Citigroup


    C


    Financials


    $2,969


    $2,202


    $1,544


    $8,820


    $8,274


    $40,065


    $60,675


    $2,531


    Walmart


    WMT


    Consumer Staples


    $2,825


    $3,136


    $562


    $12,442


    $2,192


    $25,053


    $44,543


    $2,262


    HCA Healthcare


    HCA


    Health Care


    $2,750


    $3,000


    $2,000


    $11,759


    $6,405


    $35,872


    $58,385


    $8,447


    Visa


    V


    Information Technology


    $2,710


    $1,668


    $2


    $4,956


    $388


    $9,272


    $17,628


    $1,071


    Chubb


    CB


    Financials


    $2,611


    $916


    $1,028


    $8,011


    $2,799


    $15,417


    $19,050


    $1,360


    Mastercard


    MA


    Information Technology


    $2,596


    $163


    $7


    $3,105


    $245


    $4,235


    $5,414


    $1,485



    Top 20



    $126,320



    $104,555



    $58,007



    $389,547



    $257,561



    $1,316,350



    $1,784,034



    $99,658



    S&P 500



    $234,640



    $198,843



    $101,786



    $742,209



    $570,753



    $3,321,214



    $5,809,820



    $568,697



    Top 20 % of S&P 500



    53.84%



    52.58%



    56.99%



    52.48%



    45.13%



    39.63%



    30.71%



    17.52%



    Gross values are not adjusted for float



    S&P Dow Jones Indices



    S&P 500 Q3 2021 Buyback Report



    SECTOR



    DIVIDEND



    BUYBACK



    COMBINED



    YIELD



    YIELD



    YIELD



    Consumer Discretionary



    0.62%



    1.25%



    1.87%



    Consumer Staples



    3.18%



    1.58%



    4.76%



    Energy



    4.15%



    0.49%



    4.64%



    Financials



    1.98%



    3.54%



    5.52%



    HealthCare



    1.56%



    1.35%



    2.92%



    Industrials



    1.50%



    1.69%



    3.18%



    Information Technology



    0.83%



    2.05%



    2.88%



    Materials



    1.84%



    1.64%



    3.48%



    Real Estate



    2.48%



    0.13%



    2.60%



    Communications Services



    1.04%



    3.11%



    4.15%



    Utilities



    3.06%



    0.13%



    3.19%



    S&P 500



    1.45%



    1.90%



    3.35%


    Uses full values (unadjusted for float)


    Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q3,’21



    Share Count Changes



    (Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS)



    >=4%



    <=-4%



    Q3 2021



    10.22%



    7.41%



    Q2 2021



    11.02%



    5.41%



    Q1 2021



    10.40%



    5.80%



    Q4 2020



    9.02%



    6.01%



    Q3 2020



    8.62%



    9.62%



    Q2 2020



    8.60%



    17.80%



    Q1 2020



    8.00%



    19.60%



    Q4 2019



    7.63%



    20.68%



    Q3 2019



    8.62%



    22.85%



    Q2 2019



    7.98%



    24.15%



    Q1 2019



    8.03%



    24.90%



    Q4 2018



    8.45%



    18.71%



    Q3 2018



    6.43%



    17.67%


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    SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

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    December 21, 2021 – 6:00 AM PST