S&P 500 Q4 2024 Buybacks Increase 7.4% and 2024 Expenditure Sets New Record by Increasing 18.5%; Earnings Per Share Increases from Buybacks Decline for the Quarter, as Q1 2025's Impact is Expected to Increase

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, March 19, 2025

   -- S&P 500 Q4 2024 buybacks were $243.2 billion, up 7.4% from Q3 2024's 
      $226.6 billion and up 11.0% from Q4 2023's $219.1 billion 
 
   -- The 2024 expenditure set an annual record of $942.5 billion and was up 
      18.5% from the 2023 expenditure of $795.2 billion 
 
   -- Consumer Staples increased spending by 97.9% as Financials and 
      Communication Services reduced their spending by 4.4% and 14.0%, 
      respectively 
 
   -- The net buyback 1% tax reduced Q4 2024 operating earnings by 0.37% and As 
      Reported GAAP by 0.39%, as the year is 0.44% and 0.50%, respectively 

NEW YORK, March 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today announced the preliminary S&P 500$(R)$ stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q4 2024.

Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks is available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.

Key Highlights:

   -- Q4 2024 share repurchases were $243.2 billion, up 7.4% from Q3 2024's 
      $226.6 billion expenditure, and up 11.0% from Q4 2023's $219.1 billion. 
 
   -- For the full year 2024 buybacks set an annual record of $942.5 billion, 
      up from $795.2 billion in 2023; the 12-month peak was in June 2022 with 
      $1.005 trillion. 
 
   -- 342 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, 
      up from 332 in Q3 2024 and up from 313 in Q4 2023; 399 companies did some 
      buybacks for the quarter, up from 381 in Q3 2024 and up from 373 in Q4 
      2023; 435 companies did some buybacks in 2024, up from 429 in 2023. 
 
   -- Buybacks remained top heavy as concentration decreased, with the top 20 
      S&P 500 companies accounting for 49.0% of Q4 2024 buybacks, down from Q3 
      2024's 53.2%, and above the historical average of 47.7% and the pre-COVID 
      historical average of 44.5%. 
 
   -- 11.9% of companies reduced share counts used for earnings per share (EPS) 
      by at least 4% year-over-year, down from Q3 2024's 13.6% and down from Q4 
      2023's 12.6%; for Q4 2024 162 issues increased their shares used for EPS 
      over Q3 2024 and 278 reduced them. 
 
   -- S&P 500 Q4 2024 dividends increased 6.7% to a record $167.6 billion from 
      Q3 2024's $157.0 billion, which held the previous record and were 8.7% 
      greater than the $154.1 billion in Q4 2023. 
 
   -- For 2024, dividends set a record $629.6 billion payments, up 7.0% on an 
      aggregate basis from 2023's $588.2 billion. 
 
   -- Total shareholders return of buybacks and dividends increased to a record 
      $410.8 billion in Q4 2024, up 7.1% from Q3 2024's $389.3 billion and up 
      10.1% from Q4 2023's $373.2 billion. 
 
   -- Total shareholder returns for 2024 increased 13.6% to a record $1.572 
      trillion from 2023's $1.383 trillion. 
 
   -- The 1% tax on net buybacks, which started in 2023, reduced the Q4 2024 
      S&P 500 operating earnings by 0.37%, down from Q3 2024's 0.42%, as it 
      reduced As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.39%, down from the prior 0.48%. 
      For 2024, the 1% tax on net buybacks reduced earnings by 0.44% for 
      operating and 0.50% for As Reported. 

"After declining in 2023, companies have increased their buyback expenditure and set an annual record in 2024. The increased expenditures came as stock prices significantly increased and the upward impact on EPS via share-count-reduction fell, which resulted in fewer shares being purchased for the expenditure. For 2025, Q1 buybacks appear to have increased so far as stock prices have pulled back, with companies' stocking-up on issues needed for employee options and ahead of the current uncertainty over economic and political policies. The net change should be a greater positive impact on Q1 2025 EPS. After that, additional discretionary buybacks, not used for options, will be dependent on the market and public policies," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

1% Buyback Excise Tax:

The 1% excise tax on net buybacks reduced Q4 2024 operating earnings by 0.37%, down from Q3 2024's 0.42% and down from the 0.44% for Q4 2023. The 2024 impact was 0.44%, up from 2023's 40%. The tax on As Reported GAAP earnings impact increased to 0.50% in 2024 from 2023's 0.47%.

Silverblatt added: "The 1% tax remains a manageable expense and has not impacted overall buybacks at this point. However, given the initial 1% buyback tax had bipartisan support and remains an attractive cash generator, there is an expectation that some increase or potential change to the type of buybacks that are taxed will remain on the table. Given the current corporate sensitivity to costs, a buyback tax rate of 2% to 2.5% was seen as impacting both buybacks and the EPS impact of share-count-reduction, which is already at a lower level due to higher stock prices. Under an increased tax, some of the expenditures may shift from buybacks to dividends. However, any shift was not seen as being on a-dollar-for-dollar basis as dividends remain a long-term pure cash-flow item which must be incorporated into corporate budgets."

Q4 2024 GICS(R) Sector Analysis:

Information Technology maintained its lead in buybacks, even as its expenditure's ticked down 0.4%, as it represented 26.2% of all buybacks for the quarter. Q4 2024 expenditures declined to $63.7 billion, compared to Q3 2024's $64.0 billion, and were up 13.3% from Q4 2023's $56.3 billion expenditure. For 2024, the sector increased its expenditure 28.0% to $253.4 billion representing 26.9% of all S&P 500 buybacks, compared to 2023's $197.9 billion which represented 24.9% of all buybacks.

Financials decreased buybacks by 4.4% for Q4 2024 as it collectively spent $42.1 billion on buybacks, accounting for 17.3% of all S&P 500 buybacks. This was down for the quarter compared to Q3 2024's expenditure of $44.1 billion, and up 43.2% from Q4 2023's $29.4 billion. For 2024, Financials spent $174.6 billion, up from $138.4 billion for 2023.

Healthcare increased its Q4 2024 expenditure by 56.2%, spending $26.4 billion, compared to the Q3 2024 expenditure of $16.9 billion, and was up 100% from Q4 2023's $13.2 billion expenditure. For 2024, the sector spent $87.7 billion, up from 2023's $64.7 billion.

Consumer Staples increased their spending in Q4 2024 by 97.9% to $15.3 billion, up from the prior quarter's $7.7 billion and up 69.3% from the Q4 2023 expenditure of $9.0 billion. For 2024, the sector spent $45.5 billion compared to 2023's $24.6 billion

Issues:

The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q4 2024 were:

   -- Apple $(AAPL)$: continued to dominate the issue level buybacks as it again 
      spent the most of any issue with its Q4 2024 expenditure, ranking as the 
      third highest in S&P 500 history. For the quarter, the company spent 
      $26.5 billion up from Q3 2024's $25.4 billion. Apple holds 18 of the top 
      20 record quarters (Meta Platforms holds #17 and QUALCOMM holds #19). For 
      2024, Apple spent $104.2 billion on buybacks up from 2023's $83.9 
      billion. Over the five-year period, Apple has spent $452 billion, and 
      $716 billion over the ten-year period. 
 
   -- Alphabet (GOOG/L): $15.6 billion for Q4 2024 up from $15.3 billion in Q3 
      2024. The 2024 expenditure was $62.2 billion versus 2023's $61.5 billion. 
 
   -- NVIDA $(NVDA)$: $9.7 billion for Q4 2024 down from $12.7 billion in Q3 
      2024. The 2024 expenditure was $40.6 billion versus $12.3 billion. 
 
   -- Exxon Mobil $(XOM)$: $5.8 billion for Q4 2024 up from $5.5 billion in Q3 
      2024. The 2024 expenditure was $19.6 billion versus $17.7 billion. 
 
   -- Kroger $(KR)$: $5.0 billion for Q4 2024 (as the FTC blocked their merger 
      with Albertsons) up from $9 million in Q3 2024. The 2024 expenditure was 
      $5.2 billion versus $62 million. 

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/.

 
S&P Dow Jones Indices 
S&P 500 proforma net buyback tax impact 
 
                   TAX      TAX % OF    TAX % OF 
                $ BILLIONS  OPERATING  AS REPORTED 
2024              $8.41      0.44 %      0.50 % 
12/31/2024        $1.93      0.37 %      0.39 % 
9/30/2024         $2.11      0.42 %      0.48 % 
6/30/2024         $2.20      0.45 %      0.49 % 
3/31/2024         $2.18      0.47 %      0.54 % 
2023              $7.24      0.40 %      0.45 % 
2022 proforma     $8.47      0.51 %      0.58 % 
2021 proforma     $7.93      0.45 %      0.47 % 
 
 
S&P Dow Jones 
Indices 
S&P 500 SECTOR 
BUYBACKS 
                                                  12MoDec,  12MoDec, 
SECTOR $ MILLIONS     Q4,'24    Q3,'24    Q4,'23       '24       '23     5-YEARS    10-YEARS 
Consumer 
 Discretionary       $21,863   $20,605   $28,716   $76,683   $83,490    $387,099    $790,766 
Consumer Staples     $15,309    $7,734    $9,042   $45,507   $24,604    $176,408    $373,428 
Energy               $17,477   $18,313   $16,060   $66,617   $69,850    $222,285    $300,185 
Financials           $42,133   $44,054   $29,418  $174,560  $138,354    $755,867  $1,357,756 
Healthcare           $26,402   $16,906   $13,188   $87,656   $64,750    $405,568    $800,972 
Industrials          $20,733   $15,852   $27,112   $70,268   $68,222    $326,307    $664,959 
Information 
 Technology          $63,741   $63,981   $56,283  $253,369  $197,893  $1,227,549  $2,067,123 
Materials             $4,732    $4,454    $2,963   $19,618   $15,168     $97,587    $154,344 
Real Estate             $660      $204      $243    $2,212    $1,693     $12,304     $22,333 
Communication 
 Services            $29,084   $33,818   $34,715  $142,505  $127,903    $618,088    $670,066 
Utilities             $1,109      $636    $1,353    $3,553    $3,237     $14,393     $23,025 
TOTAL               $243,243  $226,557  $219,091  $942,549  $795,163  $4,243,455  $7,224,956 
 
 

SECTOR BUYBACK                                    12MoDec,  12MoDec, 
MAKEUP %              Q4,'24    Q3,'24    Q4,'23       '24       '23     5-YEARS    10-YEARS 
Consumer 
 Discretionary        8.99 %    9.09 %   13.11 %    8.14 %   10.50 %      9.12 %     10.94 % 
Consumer Staples      6.29 %    3.41 %    4.13 %    4.83 %    3.09 %      4.16 %      5.17 % 
Energy                7.18 %    8.08 %    7.33 %    7.07 %    8.78 %      5.24 %      4.15 % 
Financials           17.32 %   19.44 %   13.43 %   18.52 %   17.40 %     17.81 %     18.79 % 
Healthcare           10.85 %    7.46 %    6.02 %    9.30 %    8.14 %      9.56 %     11.09 % 
Industrials           8.52 %    7.00 %   12.37 %    7.46 %    8.58 %      7.69 %      9.20 % 
Information 
 Technology          26.20 %   28.24 %   25.69 %   26.88 %   24.89 %     28.93 %     28.61 % 
Materials             1.95 %    1.97 %    1.35 %    2.08 %    1.91 %      2.30 %      2.14 % 
Real Estate           0.27 %    0.09 %    0.11 %    0.23 %    0.21 %      0.29 %      0.31 % 
Communication 
 Services            11.96 %   14.93 %   15.85 %   15.12 %   16.09 %     14.57 %      9.27 % 
Utilities             0.46 %    0.28 %    0.62 %    0.38 %    0.41 %      0.34 %      0.32 % 
TOTAL               100.00 %  100.00 %  100.00 %  100.00 %  100.00 %    100.00 %    100.00 % 
 
 
S&P Dow Jones 
Indices 
S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q4 2024 BUYBACKS, $ 
MILLIONS 
Company       Ticker  Sector          Q4 2024    Q3 2024    Q4 2023   12-Months  12-Months    5-Year     10-Year    Indicated 
                                     Buybacks   Buybacks   Buybacks    Dec,'24    Dec,'23    Buybacks    Buybacks   Dividend 
                                     $ Million  $ Million  $ Million  $ Million  $ Million  $ Million   $ Million   $ Million 
                      Information 
Apple         AAPL    Technology      $26,527    $25,361    $22,730   $104,187    $83,920    $451,957    $716,297    $15,116 
                      Communication 
Alphabet      GOOGL   Services        $15,551    $15,291    $16,191    $62,222    $61,504    $264,445    $302,235    $4,674 
                      Information 
NVIDIA        NVDA    Technology      $9,673     $12,676    $3,500     $40,636    $12,316    $67,312     $73,497      $981 
Exxon Mobil   XOM     Energy          $5,780     $5,512     $4,656     $19,629    $17,748    $53,092     $60,076     $17,405 
                      Consumer 
Kroger        KR      Staples         $5,031       $9         $8       $5,156       $62       $9,182     $15,759      $852 
                      Information 
Microsoft     MSFT    Technology      $4,986     $4,107     $4,000     $17,516    $20,044    $121,523    $199,072    $24,684 
UnitedHealth 
Group         UNH     Health Care     $4,972      $956      $1,500     $9,000     $8,000     $33,250     $47,230     $7,730 
                      Communication 
T-Mobile      TMUS    Services        $4,712      $596      $2,213     $11,497    $13,371    $48,402     $50,645     $1,716 
General               Consumer 
Motors        GM      Discretionary   $4,686     $1,032     $9,996     $7,064     $11,115    $20,679     $31,381      $660 
Chevron       CVX     Energy          $4,509     $4,714     $3,397     $15,044    $14,678    $40,716     $45,263     $11,432 
JPMorgan 
Chase         JPM     Financials      $4,301     $6,361     $2,275     $18,830    $9,824     $56,741     $130,833    $14,077 
Visa          V       Financials      $4,246     $5,867     $3,752     $17,415    $12,756    $59,684     $94,536     $4,078 
Wells Fargo   WFC     Financials      $4,000     $3,435     $2,350     $19,448    $11,851    $56,047     $129,454    $5,327 
Meta                  Communication 
Platforms     META    Services        $3,857     $12,361    $8,165     $43,895    $26,786    $162,120    $189,974    $4,578 
Bank of 
America       BAC     Financials      $3,535     $3,534      $811      $13,104    $4,576     $54,904     $123,442    $6,942 
Mastercard    MA      Financials      $3,473     $2,935     $1,840     $11,213    $9,121     $39,888     $62,448     $2,492 
                      Information 
Adobe         ADBE    Technology      $2,652     $2,668     $1,202     $10,177    $4,989     $30,634     $39,730       $0 
Procter &             Consumer 
Gamble        PG      Staples         $2,510     $1,939     $1,003     $6,952     $3,854     $38,721     $64,440     $9,491 
                      Communication 
Comcast       CMCSA   Services        $2,183     $1,990     $3,521     $9,103     $11,291    $38,928     $62,289     $5,039 
                      Information 
QUALCOMM      QCOM    Technology      $2,065     $1,438     $1,154     $5,964     $3,069     $19,927     $60,926     $3,777 
Top 20                               $119,249   $112,782    $94,264   $448,052   $340,875   $1,668,152  $2,499,527  $141,051 
S&P 500                              $243,243   $226,557   $219,091   $942,549   $795,163   $4,061,872  $7,224,956  $645,756 
Top 20 % of 
S&P 500                               49.02 %    49.78 %    43.02 %    47.54 %    42.87 %    41.07 %     34.60 %     21.84 % 
  Gross values are not adjusted for 
  float 
 
 
S&P Dow Jones Indices 
S&P 500 Q4 2024 Buyback Report 
 
SECTOR                                  DIVIDEND      BUYBACK     COMBINED 
                                         YIELD         YIELD        YIELD 
Consumer Discretionary                   0.74 %        1.52 %      2.26 % 
Consumer Staples                         2.40 %        1.56 %      3.96 % 
Energy                                   3.41 %        4.13 %      7.54 % 
Financials                               1.48 %        2.52 %      4.00 % 
HealthCare                               1.70 %        1.61 %      3.31 % 
Industrials                              1.41 %        1.71 %      3.12 % 
Information Technology                   0.67 %        1.71 %      2.37 % 
Materials                                1.98 %        1.98 %      3.97 % 
Real Estate                              3.39 %        0.20 %      3.59 % 
Communications Services                  1.02 %        3.72 %      4.74 % 
Utilities                                3.09 %        0.30 %      3.39 % 
S&P 500                                  1.34 %        1.96 %      3.31 % 
  Uses full values (unadjusted for float) 
  Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending 
  Q4,'24 
 
 
Share Count Changes 
(Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS)   >=4%     <=-4% 
Q4 2023                              6.87 %  11.92 % 
Q3 2024                              5.01 %  13.63 % 
Q2 2024                              5.04 %  12.70 % 
Q1 2024                              4.62 %  13.25 % 
Q4 2023                              3.81 %  12.63 % 
Q3 2023                              4.60 %  13.80 % 
Q2 2023                              4.22 %  16.27 % 
Q1 2023                              4.02 %  18.47 % 
Q4 2022                              5.01 %  19.44 % 
Q3 2022                              7.21 %  21.24 % 
Q2 2022                              8.42 %  19.84 % 
Q1 2022                              7.62 %  17.64 % 
Q4 2021                             10.06 %  14.89 % 
 

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March 19, 2025 09:00 ET (13:00 GMT)