S&P 500 Buybacks Fall 21% in Q2 2016
- Companies spent $127.5 billion on share repurchases in Q2 2016, down from $161.4 billion in Q1 2016
- 275 S&P 500 issues reduced share counts
- Cash reserves set a new record for the second consecutive quarter
PR Newswire
NEW YORK

 

NEW YORK, Sept. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") today announced preliminary results indicating that S&P 500® stock buybacks, or share repurchases, totaled $127.5 billion in Q2 2016, a 21.0% decrease from the $161.4 billion reported in Q1 2016 and a 3.1% decrease from the $131.6 billion reported in Q2 2015.

For the 12-month period ending in June 2016, S&P 500 issues spent $585.4 billion on buybacks, up 5.8% from the $553.5 billion spent in the same period of 2015. The 12-month expenditure is the third-highest level for buybacks, behind the $589.4 billion for the period ending Q1 2016 and $589.1 billion for the period ending Q4 2007.

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

Key Takeaways:

  • The $127.5 billion spent in Q2 2016 represents a 21.0% decrease from Q1 2016 and a 3.1% decrease from Q2 2015.
  • For the 12-month period ending June 2016, S&P 500 issues increased their buyback expenditures by 5.8%, to $585.4 billion, up from $553.5 billion posted for the corresponding 2015 period, but down 0.7% from the 12-month record of $589.4 billion set in Q1 2016.
  • For the tenth consecutive quarter, more than 20% of the S&P 500's constituents reduced their year-over-year diluted share count by at least 4%, therefore boosting their earnings-per-share (EPS) by at least 4%.
  • Total shareholder return, dividends plus buybacks, declined to $225.8 billion in Q2 2016, from the quarterly record of $258.1 billion in Q1 2016, though dividend payments rose 1.6%. The 12-month return was $974.8 billion, down a tick from the record of $975.0 billion for the 12-month period ending in March 2016.
  • Issues reducing their share count this quarter decreased to 275, from 324 in Q1 2016 and 307 in Q2 2015.
  • Significant share count changes (generally considered 1% or greater for the quarter) remained strong, but declined: 106 issues reduced in Q2 2016, down from 147 in Q1 2016. There were 46 share count increases in Q2 2016, up from 33 in Q1 2016. 
  • 134 issues reduced their year-over-year share count by at least 4%, a second consecutive decrease after five straight quarters of gains.

"The 21% decline in buybacks appears to show repurchases were pulled back to conform to budgeted expenditures," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"Buybacks were concentrated, as the top 20 issues accounted for 46.6% of the total Q2 2016 expenditures. Additionally, the number of issues conducting significant share-count reductions (purchases less issuance) declined.

"The ability of companies to increase buybacks remains high, as cash is at a record level and money remains cheap and easy. However, the cessation of momentum after Q1 2016 may indicate that companies have not increased planned buybacks and rearranged expenditures to support their shares through the end of the fiscal period. Third quarter prices are running 2.2% ahead of the second quarter (and 6.7% ahead of Q3 2015); increased expenditures may be needed to cover the higher share prices or risk diluting EPS." 

Sector Analysis:

Information Technology easily continued its buybacks dominance, as its percentage of Q2 2016 S&P 500 buybacks increased to 23.6% of all S&P 500 buybacks ($30.1 billion), from 21.5% ($34.7 billion) in Q1 2016.

Energy continued to decline, falling to 1.1% ($1.4 billion) of all buybacks for Q2 2016, from 1.3% ($2.1 billion) in Q1 2016.

Health Care decreased its expenditures by 51.1% ($15.0 billion) after increasing 86.1% ($30.6 billion) in Q1 2016, accounting for 11.7% of all buybacks and reverting closer to the sector's historical buyback levels.

Also notable was Consumer Staples, which posted a 0.1% gain in expenditures to $11.7 billion, representing 15.9% of all expenditures, amid the sector's 21.0% decline for the quarter.

Issues:

Apple (AAPL) spent the most on buybacks in Q2 2016 at $10.2 billion, the ninth-largest quarterly share buyback by an S&P 500 constituent in history. Apple also holds the top 3 and fifth-largest quarterly repurchase; International Business Machines (IBM) holds the fourth largest.

General Electric (GE) was second, with $8.0 billion, up from its prior quarter's $6.3 billion.

AbbVie (ABBV) came in third with $3.8 billion, up from its prior quarter's $0.4 billion.

Microsoft (MSFT) and McDonald's (MCD) rounded out the top five, spending $3.7 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) ranked 292, down from 58 in Q1 2016, with only minor buybacks ($1 million).

Total Shareholder Returns:

Silverblatt determined that total shareholder return through regular cash dividends, as well as buybacks, declined 12.5% from the record first quarter's $258.1 billion to $225.8 billion. Dividends managed a 1.6% increase over the first quarter, as the buyback decline pushed the total expenditure down. For the 12-month period ending June 2016, companies returned $974.8 billion, a tick down from the record $975.0 billion in buybacks and dividends set in the 12-month period ending March 2016.

According to Silverblatt, cash reserves also set a new record for the second consecutive quarter, as S&P 500 Industrial (Old), which consists of the S&P 500 less Financials, Transportations and Utilities, available cash and equivalent now stands at $1.374 trillion, up 2.0% from the prior record of $1.348 trillion. The current cash level is 86 weeks of expected 2016 operating income (the same as was posted for Q1 2016), giving corporations leeway in their expenditures.

"Shareholder returns continue to be strong, even as the quarter ticked down from last quarter's record," said Silverblatt. "Cash has increased to a record, as low-cost financing globally remains plentiful. The rate of dividend increases continues to slow across sector lines, as income investors remain limited in their alternatives. Base buyback expenditures, those used to negate stock options, may need to increase in Q3 2016 to compensate for higher share prices. Discretionary buybacks, used to reduce share count and increase EPS, remain the main unknown."

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 Mo Jun,'16

$17,837.29

$858.27

$759.50

$389.43

$585.35

2.18%

3.28%

5.46%

$974.78

12 Mo Jun,'15

$18,071.59

$959.35

$840.70

$369.67

$553.52

2.05%

3.06%

5.11%

$923.19

2015

$17,916.79

$885.38

$762.74

$382.32

$572.16

2.13%

3.19%

5.33%

$954.47

2014

$17,272.45

$1,004.22

$909.09

$350.43

$553.28

2.03%

3.20%

5.23%

$903.71

2013

$14,936.01

$956.01

$892.76

$311.77

$475.59

2.09%

3.18%

5.27%

$787.36

   (mkt val avg)

                 
                   

6/30/2016 Prelim.

$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

12/31/2011

$11,385

$214.83

$186.85

$65.89

$87.59

2.11%

3.56%

5.67%

$153.47

09/30/2011

$10,303

$230.30

$206.08

$59.20

$118.41

2.22%

3.92%

6.14%

$177.61

6/30/2011

$12,021

$226.29

$202.44

$59.03

$109.24

1.84%

3.04%

4.88%

$168.27

 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices

           

S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS

           

SECTOR $ MILLIONS

Q2,'16

Q1,'16

Q2,'15

12MoJun,'16

12MoJun,'15

5-YEARS

             

Consumer Discretionary

$20,283

$26,671

$22,568

$97,195

$85,966

$390,455

Consumer Staples

$11,720

$11,708

$7,739

$49,706

$40,399

$225,194

Energy

$1,386

$2,053

$3,547

$9,604

$28,205

$161,103

Financials

$25,666

$26,706

$21,276

$103,127

$83,614

$356,842

Health Care

$14,974

$30,626

$18,131

$76,892

$68,063

$337,890

Industrials

$21,897

$26,229

$17,172

$90,943

$69,328

$302,264

Information Technology

$30,066

$34,682

$36,674

$143,425

$146,602

$608,648

Materials

$1,269

$2,402

$2,395

$12,400

$22,666

$67,809

Telecommunication Services

$201

$12

$166

$1,084

$5,729

$36,562

Utilities

$38

$296

$1,894

$974

$2,949

$8,047

TOTAL

$127,501

$161,385

$131,562

$585,350

$553,522

$2,494,814

 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices

               

S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q2 2016 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS 

           

Company  

Ticker

Sector

Q2,'16

12 Mo Jun,'16

12 Mo Jun,'15

5-Year

10-year

Indicated

     

Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Buybacks

Dividend

     

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

$ Million

Apple 

AAPL

Information Technology

$10,166

$36,949

$39,000

$126,809

$126,809

$12,489

General Electric 

GE

Industrials

$7,966

$16,026

$0

$33,397

$57,737

$8,460

AbbVie

ABBV

Health Care

$3,803

$6,435

$5,644

$12,754

$12,754

$3,688

Microsoft

MSFT

Information Technology

$3,677

$15,969

$14,443

$48,117

$112,719

$11,319

McDonald's

MCD

Consumer Discretionary

$3,381

$11,630

$4,217

$22,628

$39,231

$3,125

JPMorgan Chase

JPM

Financials

$2,840

$7,003

$6,148

$26,642

$41,450

$7,021

American International Gr

AIG

Financials

$2,762

$13,196

$6,796

$35,508

$42,537

$1,432

Johnson & Johnson

JNJ

Health Care

$2,369

$6,954

$8,330

$35,303

$52,525

$8,802

Wells Fargo 

WFC

Financials

$2,214

$8,354

$10,021

$32,972

$43,795

$7,717

Wal-Mart Stores 

WMT

Consumer Staples

$2,117

$7,681

$1,365

$23,952

$57,129

$6,233

Monster Beverage

MNST

Consumer Staples

$2,000

$2,398

$420

$3,751

$4,003

$0

Boeing

BA

Industrials

$2,000

$7,751

$6,504

$20,054

$25,816

$2,777

Oracle 

ORCL

Information Technology

$1,980

$10,529

$8,101

$45,320

$56,468

$2,490

CVS Health 

CVS

Consumer Staples

$1,894

$6,027

$3,734

$21,650

$31,991

$1,826

Medtronic

MDT

Health  Care

$1,763

$3,843

$1,605

$10,693

$16,087

$2,419

Goldman Sachs Gr

GS

Financials

$1,738

$5,934

$3,995

$26,781

$48,588

$1,080

American Express 

AXP

Financials

$1,724

$5,361

$4,269

$21,206

$26,694

$1,103

American Airlines Gr

AAL

Industrials

$1,711

$6,151

$1,965

$8,200

$8,201

$212

Visa 

V

Information Technology

$1,709

$5,562

$3,772

$19,344

$38,036

$1,067

Alphabet 

GOOGL

Information Technology

$1,595

$5,473

$0

$5,561

$6,401

$0

Top 20   

   

$59,409

$189,226

$130,330

$580,642

$848,972

$83,260

S&P 500

   

$127,501

$585,351

$553,522

$2,494,814

$4,274,108

$412,920

Top 20 % of S&P 500

   

46.59%

32.33%

23.55%

23.27%

19.86%

20.16%

   Gross values are not adjusted for float

             

 

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices

         

S&P 500 Q2 2016 Buyback Report

       
           

SECTOR

DIVIDEND

BUYBACK 

COMBINED

   
 

YIELD

YIELD

YIELD

   

Consumer Discretionary

1.69%

4.24%

5.93%

   

Consumer Staples

3.10%

2.74%

5.84%

   

Energy

2.84%

0.74%

3.58%

   

Financials

2.37%

3.48%

5.85%

   

Health Care

1.72%

2.81%

4.53%

   

Industrials

2.40%

5.14%

7.54%

   

Information Technology

1.67%

3.86%

5.53%

   

Materials

2.31%

2.50%

4.81%

   

Telecommunication Services

4.65%

0.22%

4.87%

   

Utilities

3.52%

0.16%

3.68%

   

S&P 500

2.25%

3.22%

5.47%

   

   Uses full values (unadjusted for float)

       

   Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q2,'16

 

 

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices