S&P 500 Buybacks Fall 17.5% Year-over-Year to $133.1 Billion for Q1 2017
- Q1 2017 repurchases is 1.6% less than Q4 2016 and 17.5% less than Q1 2016
- EPS support via share count reduction significantly declines
- Cash reserves set new record

NEW YORK, June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") today announced preliminary results indicating that S&P 500® stock buybacks, or share repurchases, totaled $133.1 billion for Q1 2017. This is a 1.6% decrease from the $135.3 billion reported for Q4 2016 and a 17.5% decrease from the $161.4 billion reported for Q1 2016, when companies actively supported declining share prices.

For the 12-month period ending March 2017, S&P 500 issues spent $508.1 billion on buybacks, down 13.8% from $589.4 billion for the prior 12-month period; the 12-month period ending March 2016 remains the all-time record.

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

Key Takeaways:

  • Fewer buybacks resulted in fewer share count reductions and less earnings per share (EPS) support.
  • S&P 500 issues substantially reducing their year-over-year share count, which is used to calculate EPS, declined to 14.8%, compared to 19.4% for Q1 2017 and 28.2% for Q1 2016.
  • Total shareholder return totaled $234.0 billion, down 2.1% from $239.1 billion for Q4 2016.
  • S&P 500 dividends slightly declined to $100.9 billion, from $103.8 billion for Q4 2016; for the 12-month period ending March 2017, the total shareholder return was $909.6 billion, down 6.7% from $975.0 billion for the 12-month period ending March 2016.
  • 255 S&P 500 issues reduced their share count for Q1 2017, down from 281 for Q4 2016 and 324 for Q1 2016.
  • Year-over-year share count reductions of at least 4%, which are seen as affecting EPS, declined to 71 issues for Q1 2017, compared to 93 for Q4 2016 and 139 for Q1 2016.

"The expenditures on share buybacks declined as share prices increased, resulting in fewer share repurchases and an impact to EPS growth," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"Over the past two years, more than 20% of S&P 500 issues have given at least a 4% tailwind for EPS via reduced share counts; for Q1 2017, that rate dropped to 14.8%, with indications that Q2 2017 may offer even less support. Companies may have to increase EPS the old-fashioned way – by earning it."

Buybacks remained concentrated, as the top 20 issues accounted for 42.1% of all share repurchases, down from 46.7% for Q4 2016.

"The ability of companies to increase buybacks remains high, as available cash set a new record," said Silverblatt. "Net income has improved, with Q2 2017 estimates projecting additional gains, potentially setting a new record. On an issue level, the question now is where share counts end up and the overall amount of EPS support."

Sector Analysis:

Financials increased its expenditures by 10.2%, to $29.5 billion, the most of any sector. Financials accounted for 22.2% of all buybacks.  Of note, the upcoming bank stress test results may indicate potential future actions.

Health Care expenditures declined 6.5% to $27.0 billion, from $28.9 billion, as it accounted for 20.3% of all buybacks (down from 21.4% for Q4 2016).

Information Technology continued strong, even as its expenditures declined 4.4% to $27.5 billion from the prior period's $28.7 billion; the sector represents 20.6% of all buybacks.

Energy buybacks more than doubled to $2.1 billion for Q1 2017, from $1.0 billion for Q4 2016, but still pales against the $13.1 billion spent for Q1 2014 when oil prices were higher.

Issues:

Apple (AAPL) spent $7.2 billion for Q1 2017, down from $10.9 billion for Q4 2016 but up from $6.7 billion for Q1 2016.

Pfizer (PFE) was second, with $5.0 billion, as it matched its Q1 2016 expenditure after no buybacks between Q2-Q4 2016.

CVS Health (CVS) was third, with $3.6 billion, up from $0.4 billion for Q4 2016 and $2.1 billion for Q1 2016.

American International Group (AIG) came in fourth, with $3.6 billion, up from $3.0 billion for Q4 2016.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rounded out the top 5, at $3.3 billion, up from $2.0 billion for Q4 2016.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) ranked 68, up from 111 last quarter (and 291 for Q3 2016), as it increased its expenditures to $501 million from last quarter's $250 million and $1 million for both Q2 2016 and Q3 2016.

Total Shareholder Return:

Silverblatt determined that total shareholder return through regular cash dividends and buybacks decreased 2.1% to $234.0 billion for Q1 2017, down from $239.1 billion for Q4 2016. For the 12-month period ending March 2017, shareholder return totaled $909.6 billion, down 6.7% from the record $975.0 billion for the 12-month period ending March 2016.

Dividends posted a 2.8% decline for Q1 2017, to $100.9 billion, from the Q4 2016 record of $103.8 billion. Payments totaled $401.4 billion for the 12-month period ending March 2017, up 4.1% from $385.6 billion for the 12-month period ending March 2016. With Q2 2017 nearing its end, the quarter could post a record.

According to Silverblatt, preliminary cash reserves ticked up from Q4 2016. S&P 500 Industrial (Old), which consists of the S&P 500 less Financials, Transportations and Utilities, available cash and equivalent now stands at $1.496 trillion, surpassing the previous record of $1.487 trillion from Q3 2016. The current cash level is 1.7 times greater than expected 2017 operating income.  

"Companies' ability to increase their expenditure, be it buybacks, dividends capital expenditures or M&A, remains very high, given their cash reserves and cash flow," said Silverblatt. "Additionally, while dividend growth has slowed, Q2 2017 and full-year 2017 may post quarterly and annual records, respectively."

"Base buyback expenditures must increase if companies wish to negate stock options, as higher stock prices can be costly and bring in additional out-of-the-money options."

"Discretionary buybacks, which are typically used to reduce share count and increase EPS, continued to decline, indicating that companies may feel they can compensate via higher earnings; if not, they have the choice to quickly increase their buybacks."

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit www.spdji.com.

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices









S&P 500, $ U.S. BILLIONS

(preliminary in bold)







PERIOD

MARKET OPERATING AS REPORTED





DIVIDEND &

DIVIDENDS


VALUE

EARNINGS

EARNINGS

DIVIDENDS

BUYBACKS

DIVIDEND 

BUYBACK 

BUYBACK 

& BUYBACKS


$ BILLIONS

$ BILLIONS

$ BILLIONS

$ BILLIONS

$ BILLIONS

YIELD

YIELD

YIELD

$ BILLION

12 Months Mar 2017

$20,275.97

$958.10

$864.83

$401.41

$508.15

1.98%

2.51%

4.49%

$909.56

12 Months Mar 2016

$17,958.30

$865.92

$759.06

$385.57

$589.41

2.15%

3.28%

5.43%

$974.99

2016

$19,267.93

$919.85

$818.55

$397.21

$536.38

2.06%

2.78%

4.85%

$933.60

2015

$17,899.56

$885.38

$762.74

$382.32

$572.16

2.14%

3.20%

5.33%

$954.47

2014

$18,245.16

$1,004.22

$909.09

$350.43

$553.28

1.92%

3.03%

4.95%

$903.71











3/31/2017

$20,276

$247.24

$235.65

$100.86

$133.15

1.98%

2.51%

4.49%

$234.01

12/31/2016

$19,268

$240.11

$207.93

$103.82

$135.29

2.06%

2.78%

4.85%

$239.11

9/30/2016

$18,742

$247.98

$219.46

$98.43

$112.20

2.10%

2.92%

5.01%

$210.63

6/30/2016

$18,193

$222.77

$201.79

$98.30

$127.50

2.14%

3.22%

5.36%

$225.81

3/31/2016

$17,958

$208.99

$189.37

$96.67

$161.39

2.15%

3.28%

5.43%

$258.05

12/31/2015

$17,900

$201.95

$163.76

$99.39

$145.88

2.14%

3.20%

5.33%

$245.27

9/30/2015

$16,917

$224.14

$204.58

$95.07

$150.58

2.22%

3.30%

5.52%

$245.66

6/30/2015

$18,219

$230.84

$201.35

$94.45

$131.56

2.03%

3.04%

5.07%

$226.01

3/31/2015

$18,303

$228.45

$193.05

$93.41

$144.13

1.98%

2.94%

4.92%

$237.54

12/30/2014

$18,245

$237.14

$202.31

$92.80

$132.63

1.92%

3.03%

4.95%

$225.43

9/30/2014

$17,519

$262.92

$244.00

$89.02

$145.19

1.96%

3.14%

5.10%

$234.22

6/30/2014

$17,404

$260.50

$240.96

$86.65

$116.17

1.91%

3.06%

4.98%

$202.82

3/31/2014

$16,700

$243.67

$221.82

$81.96

$159.28

1.93%

3.20%

5.14%

$241.24

12/31/2013

$16,495

$252.10

$236.31

$84.98

$129.41

1.89%

2.88%

4.77%

$214.40

9/30/2013

$14,960

$239.50

$219.13

$79.26

$128.16

2.05%

2.98%

5.03%

$207.42

6/30/2013

$14,310

$234.84

$221.56

$76.67

$118.05

2.07%

2.94%

5.02%

$194.72

3/31/2013

$13,979

$229.57

$215.76

$70.86

$99.97

2.06%

2.97%

5.02%

$170.82

12/31/2012

$12,742

$206.84

$184.50

$79.83

$99.15

2.20%

3.13%

5.33%

$178.98

9/30/2012

$12,881

$214.58

$189.64

$69.48

$103.72

2.07%

3.01%

5.08%

$173.20

6/30/2012

$12,303

$229.69

$195.27

$67.31

$111.75

2.08%

3.27%

5.35%

$179.05

3/31/2012

$12,730

$219.09

$208.15

$64.07

$84.29

1.95%

3.14%

5.09%

$148.37

 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices







S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS







SECTOR $ MILLIONS

Q1,'17

Q4,'16

Q1,'16

12MO MAR,'17

12MO MAR,'16

5-YEARS








Consumer Discretionary

$16,196

$20,604

$26,671

$79,053

$99,480

$397,441

Consumer Staples

$14,469

$11,615

$11,708

$46,200

$45,725

$223,617

Energy

$2,107

$979

$2,053

$5,816

$11,765

$130,584

Financials

$29,497

$26,772

$26,706

$107,148

$98,737

$405,830

Healthcare

$27,010

$28,898

$30,626

$83,971

$80,049

$364,174

Industrials

$14,113

$14,773

$26,229

$64,050

$86,218

$318,036

Information Technology

$27,477

$28,731

$34,682

$112,253

$150,033

$635,707

Materials

$1,359

$2,497

$2,402

$7,353

$13,526

$66,528

Real Estate

$574

$303


$1,333

$0

$1,333

Telecommunication Services

$191

$69

$12

$708

$1,049

$34,790

Utilities

$158

$51

$296

$262

$2,830

$7,129

TOTAL

$133,150

$135,292

$161,385

$508,146

$589,411

$2,585,168

 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices









S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q1 2017 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS 







Company  

Ticker

Sector

Q1,'17

12MO Mar,'17

12MO Mar.'16

5-Year

10-year

Indicated




Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Dividend




$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

Apple

AAPL

Information Technology

$7,161

$34,204

$36,783

$150,847

$150,847

$13,221

Pfizer

PFE

Healthcare

$5,000

$5,000

$5,160

$42,696

$57,272

$7,618

CVS Health 

CVS

Consumer Staples

$3,621

$6,016

$5,060

$23,380

$36,113

$2,051

American Internat'l Gr

AIG

Financials

$3,585

$11,559

$12,779

$41,235

$48,305

$1,185

Johnson & Johnson

JNJ

Healthcare

$3,342

$9,939

$5,559

$41,210

$58,449

$9,117

Aetna Inc. (AET)

AET

Healthcare

$3,300

$3,300

$100

$7,302

$15,046

$663

JPMorgan 

JPM

Financials

$2,832

$10,218

$5,412

$28,516

$44,826

$7,144

Bank of America 

BAC

Financials

$2,728

$6,840

$3,374

$15,109

$16,411

$3,008

Wells Fargo

WFC

Financials

$2,534

$8,621

$8,602

$38,439

$48,640

$7,605

 Boeing )

BA

Industrials

$2,500

$6,000

$7,752

$24,054

$29,456

$3,479

Citigroup

C

Financials

$2,255

$10,241

$6,784

$20,778

$22,550

$1,773

Wal-Mart Stores

WMT

Consumer Staples

$2,185

$7,748

$6,567

$25,236

$60,099

$6,269

Microsoft 

MSFT

Information Technology

$2,062

$13,700

$16,571

$54,141

$110,067

$12,055

Walt Disney

DIS

Consumer Discretionary

$2,035

$6,608

$8,698

$29,054

$46,643

$2,467

Procter & Gamble 

PG

Consumer Staples

$2,001

$5,233

$3,504

$23,982

$58,464

$7,052

Intuitive Surgical

ISRG

Healthcare

$2,000

$2,034

$182

$4,574

$5,254

$0

Bristol-Myers Squibb 

BMY

Healthcare

$2,000

$2,000

$231

$4,733

$6,869

$2,609

Visa 

V

Information Technology

$1,582

$6,934

$4,907

$24,070

$43,261

$1,226

General Electric 

GE

Industrials

$1,578

$16,681

$8,060

$40,642

$63,330

$8,376

Humana

HUM

Healthcare

$1,574

$1,607

$391

$3,850

$4,826

$239

Top 20   



$55,875

$174,483

$146,476

$643,848

$926,728

$97,158

S&P 500



$132,627

$508,146

$589,411

$2,585,168

$4,322,063

$431,794

Top 20 % of S&P 500



42.13%

34.34%

24.85%

24.91%

21.44%

22.50%

   Gross values are not adjusted for float







 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices




S&P 500 20 Largest Quarterly Buybacks, $ Millions, as of Q1 2017, no isses added for Q1 2017


$ MILLIONS

QUARTER

COMPANY

SECTOR


$17,971

Q1 2014

Apple

Information Technology

1

$17,000

Q3 2014

Apple

Information Technology

2

$16,000

Q2 2013

Apple

Information Technology

3

$15,707

Q2 2007

International Business Machines 

Information Technology

4

$13,253

Q3 2015

Apple

Information Technology

5

$12,852

Q2 2012

Johnson & Johnson 

Healthcare

6

$12,318

Q4 2016

Allergan plc (AGN)

Healthcare

7

$12,183

Q3 2012

Johnson & Johnson 

Healthcare

8

$10,851

Q4 2016

Apple

Information Technology

9

$10,723

Q3 2007

Home Depot

Consumer Discretionary

10

$10,166

Q2 2016

Apple

Information Technology

11

$10,000

Q2 2015

Apple

Information Technology

12

$9,859

Q4 2007

Transocean

Energy

13

$9,179

Q4 2006

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

14

$9,465

Q1 2008

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

15

$8,845

Q4 2008

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

16

$8,761

Q2 2008

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

17

$8,663

Q3 2008

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

18

$8,463

Q3 2007

Exxon Mobil 

Energy

19

$8,166

Q1 2014

International Business Machines 

Information Technology

20

$230,425


TOP 20



 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices





S&P 500 Q1 2017 Buyback Report









SECTOR

DIVIDEND

BUYBACK 

COMBINED



YIELD

YIELD

YIELD


Consumer Discretionary

1.55%

3.09%

4.64%


Consumer Staples

3.01%

2.45%

5.46%


Energy

2.98%

0.48%

3.45%


Financials

1.77%

3.57%

5.33%


HealthCare

1.69%

2.85%

4.55%


Industrials

2.14%

3.00%

5.14%


Information Technology

1.54%

2.54%

4.08%


Materials

2.10%

1.24%

3.35%


Real Estate

3.47%

0.43%

3.91%


Telecommunication Services

4.90%

0.15%

5.05%


Utilities

3.40%

0.04%

3.43%


S&P 500

2.10%

2.48%

4.57%


   Uses full values (unadjusted for float)




   Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q1,'17

 

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

For further information: S&P DJI MEDIA CONTACTS: Soogyung Cho Jordan, Head of Communications, (+1) 212 438 2297, soogyung.jordan@spglobal.com; Luke Shane, US Communications, (+1) 212 438 8184, luke.shane@spglobal.com; INDEX INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst, (+1) 212 438 3916, howard.silverblatt@spglobal.com