Biggest share buybacks by US companies
Cash spent repurchasing the company's own shares in the latest fiscal year, as reported in its cash flow statement. Apple Inc. leads with $86.4bn in fiscal 2026. The top 100 of 1,865 companies with a figure on file.
Would buying this list have paid?
Buying the top 100 companies by buybacks, as the list stood each quarter since March 31, 2010, would have returned +16.0% a year against +14.0% for the S&P 500. It beat the index, but not by enough, consistently enough, to rule out luck.
| Return a year | Typical yearly swing | Sharpe ratio | Biggest drop | Moves with market (beta) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 by buybacks | +16.0% | 15.3% | 0.96 | -25.5% | 0.97 |
| S&P 500, buy and hold | +14.0% | 15.1% | 0.87 | -23.9% | 1.00 |
- Ahead of the S&P 500 in 60.6% of 66 quarters.
- Extra return after allowing for market risk (alpha): +2.2% a year Some evidence t = 1.66
- Against the S&P 500: +3.5% a year in 2010–2017, +0.5% in 2018–2026.
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