American Companies Are Buying Back Their Own Stocks at a Record Pace

S&P 500 firms bought $293.5 billion worth of their stock during the three months of this year

- Krystal Hur

American companies are repurchasing their shares at a record pace, boosting their balance sheets and fueling the U.S. stock rally. U.S. companies have announced $983.6 billion worth of stock buybacks so far this year, the best start to a year on record, according to Birinyi Associates data going back to 1982. They are projected to purchase more than $1.1 trillion worth overall in 2025, which would mark an all-time high.

The biggest repurchasers include tech giants Apple and Google parent Alphabet. Big banks such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley also are leading the charge.

Strong earnings growth and tax cuts have helped fill corporate coffers, while powering stocks out of their tariff-driven April rout and lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh records. At the same time, the confusion around trade has stalled many businesses' investment plans, making buybacks a more appealing use of incoming cash.

"Things are better than everyone makes them seem," said Jeffrey Yale Rubin, president of Birinyi Associates. "Companies are flush with cash. They were in healthy shape even before the better earnings."

Both companies and investors often applaud buybacks because the practice reduces the number of shares available to trade, driving up earnings per share and often boosting stock prices.