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Ranked lists

Top 100: Biggest share buybacks

Backtest from 31 Mar 2010 to 30 Sept 2026 · quarterly · hypothetical

Watch this strategy
Return a year
+16.0%
S&P 500 +14.0%
Last 12 months
+23.8%
S&P 500 +15.7%
Sharpe ratio
0.96
S&P 500 0.86
Biggest drop
−25.5%
S&P 500 −23.9%
$10.0k$20.0k$40.0k$80.0k 201020122014201620182020202220242026 $115k$87.2k
StrategyS&P 500 $10,000 in Top 100: Biggest share buybacks from 31 Mar 2010 against the S&P 500 (total return) over the same dates, marked quarterly, log scale. Hypothetical: before taxes and trading costs.

About

Holds the top 100 companies on our “biggest share buybacks” list, equal weight, rebuilt every quarter from figures in quarters that ended at least 90 days earlier, the same rules as the live list.

The live list →

Key statistics

MeasureStrategyS&P 500
Return a year (compound)+16.0%+14.0%
Total return+1054%+772%
Last 12 months+23.8%+15.7%
Last 3 months+3.3%—
Last month+3.3%—
This year so far+18.8%—
Volatility a year15.3%15.1%
Sharpe ratio0.960.86
Biggest drop−25.5%−23.9%
Beta to the S&P 5000.971.00
Alpha a year (t-statistic)+2.2% (1.68)—
Share of quarters up77%—

Sharpe ratio uses returns above the 3-month Treasury bill rate. Alpha is the yearly return left after allowing for the strategy's exposure to the S&P 500 (CAPM); a t-statistic below about 2 means it cannot be told apart from luck.

Insights

CompanyWeightHeld sinceReturn since
AAPL1.0%——
NVDA1.0%——
CRM1.0%——
JPM1.0%——
BAC1.0%——
MSFT1.0%——
XOM1.0%——
C1.0%——
WFC1.0%——
GOOGL1.0%——
GS1.0%——
TMUS1.0%——
CVX1.0%——
BKNG1.0%——
NFLX1.0%——
QCOM1.0%——
ADBE1.0%——
COF1.0%——
HCA1.0%——
AVGO1.0%——
GE1.0%——
DIS1.0%——
JNJ1.0%——
T1.0%——
AXP1.0%——
CAT1.0%——
UBER1.0%——
GM1.0%——
MCK1.0%——
LLY1.0%——
PYPL1.0%——
JCI1.0%——
CSCO1.0%——
DELL1.0%——
WMT1.0%——
GEV1.0%——
TRV1.0%——
COP1.0%——
SPGI1.0%——
PG1.0%——
TMO1.0%——
MPC1.0%——
VLO1.0%——
CB1.0%——
NEM1.0%——
MRK1.0%——
LIN1.0%——
MMM1.0%——
BNY1.0%——
LRCX1.0%——
AFL1.0%——
ZTS1.0%——
MAR1.0%——
SYF1.0%——
FICO1.0%——
TFC1.0%——
ISRG1.0%——
ACGL1.0%——
OMC1.0%——
NOW1.0%——
ORLY1.0%——
HLT1.0%——
AMP1.0%——
ROP1.0%——
LNG1.0%——
MCO1.0%——
ADI1.0%——
CRBG1.0%——
AIG1.0%——
MRSH1.0%——
DHI1.0%——
EOG1.0%——
FTNT1.0%——
CMG1.0%——
KR1.0%——
MSCI1.0%——
ELV1.0%——
AMAT1.0%——
IT1.0%——
SHW1.0%——
MTB1.0%——
LVS1.0%——
TJX1.0%——
BDX1.0%——
UTHR1.0%——
ALL1.0%——
APP1.0%——
MET1.0%——
CTSH1.0%——
MCD1.0%——
KLAC1.0%——
PNC1.0%——
ADP1.0%——
EBAY1.0%——
WDC1.0%——
URI1.0%——
COIN1.0%——
CARR1.0%——
VRTX1.0%——
ICE1.0%——

Equal weight at the latest rebalance, rebuilt every quarter.

PeriodReturn a yearS&P 500SharpeS&P 500Biggest dropBetaAlpha (t)
Whole backtest31 Mar 2010 to 30 Sept 2026+16.0%+14.0%0.960.86−25.5%0.97+2.2% (1.68)
2018 onwards31 Mar 2018 to 30 Sept 2026+15.5%+15.1%0.750.75−25.5%0.98+0.8% (0.35)
Last three years31 Dec 2023 to 30 Sept 2026+21.5%+20.2%1.671.25−1.1%0.64+6.3% (1.48)
DateCompanyAction
30 Sept 2026WDCBought
30 Sept 2026VRTXBought
30 Sept 2026SHWBought
30 Sept 2026PNCBought
30 Sept 2026KLACBought
30 Sept 2026ICEBought
30 Sept 2026FICOBought
30 Sept 2026CTSHBought
30 Sept 2026COINBought
30 Sept 2026CARRBought
30 Sept 2026ALLBought
30 Sept 2026ADPBought
30 Jun 2026UTHRBought
30 Jun 2026ROPBought
30 Jun 2026OMCBought
30 Jun 2026NOWBought
30 Jun 2026MCOBought
30 Jun 2026BDXBought
30 Jun 2026ACGLBought
31 Mar 2026ZTSBought
31 Mar 2026URIBought
31 Mar 2026TRVBought
31 Mar 2026SUBought
31 Mar 2026SLBBought
31 Mar 2026SHELBought

Dated at the rebalance that made the change.

DateCompanyAction
30 Sept 2026UNHSold
30 Sept 2026SUSold
30 Sept 2026SHELSold
30 Sept 2026SAPSold
30 Sept 2026MRVLSold
30 Sept 2026LUVSold
30 Sept 2026LMTSold
30 Sept 2026HSBCSold
30 Sept 2026EXPESold
30 Sept 2026CISold
30 Sept 2026BUDSold
30 Sept 2026ASMLSold
30 Jun 2026VRTXSold
30 Jun 2026UNPSold
30 Jun 2026SLBSold
30 Jun 2026PHSold
30 Jun 2026GILDSold
30 Jun 2026FANGSold
30 Jun 2026CARRSold
31 Mar 2026TPRSold
31 Mar 2026SHWSold
31 Mar 2026SCHWSold
31 Mar 2026NVRSold
31 Mar 2026LOWSold
31 Mar 2026KLACSold

Dated at the rebalance that made the change.

Backtests are hypothetical and use today's listed companies only, which flatters results. Past performance does not predict future returns. This is research, not investment advice. How we backtest