The ranking measure: Ranked by the 12-month change in period-end shares outstanding, adjusted for stock splits (most reduced first), from SEC filings. It ranks the net change in the share count, not the amount spent on buybacks: buybacks that only offset shares issued as stock pay show up as little or no reduction. Shown alongside: buyback spending and its share of free cash flow, stock-based compensation, and net payout yield (dividends plus buybacks minus cash raised from issuing shares, over market value from third-party market data). Buybacks as a share of free cash flow are shown for context; they are not part of the research the ranking draws on.

Who is included: Passes data-quality checks; revenue of at least $100M; reported buyback spending in the trailing year; period-end share count reported a year apart; not a bank, insurer or REIT.

Methodology change: From the 2026-Q4 edition the share count is the period-end number of shares outstanding (from the balance sheet, or the filing's cover page where the balance sheet doesn't tag it), adjusted for stock splits and compared with a year earlier. Earlier editions used the trailing-twelve-month average of weighted-average diluted shares, which moves with the share price and with swings between profit and loss, and lags actual buybacks.

Market values are from third-party market data as of 2026-11-02 and may be delayed; every other figure comes from SEC filings.

A new edition is published each calendar quarter; past editions are kept unchanged. Observations, not recommendations — a position on this ranking is a description of reported figures, never advice.

Research cited

  • Pontiff, J., & Woodgate, A. (2008). Share issuance and cross-sectional returns. Journal of Finance.
  • Daniel, K., & Titman, S. (2006). Market reactions to tangible and intangible information. Journal of Finance.
  • Boudoukh, J., Michaely, R., Richardson, M., & Roberts, M. R. (2007). On the importance of measuring payout yield: Implications for empirical asset pricing. Journal of Finance.