Press Releases
S&P 500 Q4 2021 buybacks were $270.1 billion, up 15.1% from the record set in Q3 2021; Total 2021 buybacks were $881.7 billion, up 69.6% from 2020 and up 9.3% from the prior annual record set in 2018
NEW YORK, March 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today preliminary S&P 500® stock buyback, or share repurchases, data for Q4 2021 and 2021.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.
Key Takeaways:
- Q4 2021 share repurchases were a record $270.1 billion, up 15.1% from Q3 2021's record $234.6 billion expenditure and up 106.8% from Q4 2020's $130.6 billion.
- 325 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, up from 309 in Q3 2021 and up from 244 in Q4 2020; 410 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for 2021, flat from 2020; 383 companies did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 371 in Q3 2020 and up from 332 in Q4 2020; 422 companies did some buybacks for the year, down from 426 in 2020.
- Buybacks remained top heavy with the top 20 companies accounting for 51.8% of Q4 2021 buybacks, down from Q3 2021's 53.8%, down from the dominating 66.3% in Q4 2020, and up from the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.
- For 2021, buybacks were a record $881.7 billion, a 69.6% increase from the $519.8 billion in 2020, and up 9.3% from the record $806.4 billion 2018 level.
- Buybacks are expected to continue at a higher level for Q1 2022, even as prices have declined, as reduced prices will increase the number of shares purchased and lift earnings-per-share due to share reduction.
- 14.6% of companies reduced share counts used for EPS by at least 4% year-over-year, up from Q3 2021's 7.4% and Q2 2021's 5.4%, but still significantly down from Q4 2019's 20.7% rate.
- S&P 500 Q3 2021 dividends increased 3.0% to a record $133.9 billion from Q3 2021's $130.0 billion and were 10.1% greater than the $121.6 billion in Q4 2020. For 2021, dividends were a record $511.2 billion, up 5.8% on an aggregate basis from 2020's $483.2 billion.
- Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends was a record $404.0 billion in Q4 2021, up 10.8% from Q3 2021's $364.7 billion and up 60.2% from Q4 2020's $252.2 billion.
- Total shareholder return for 2021 increased to a record $1.53 trillion from 2020's $1.39 trillion.
"Companies continued their record-breaking buybacks in Q4 2021 and accelerated their expenditures prior to the year-end ahead of any expected policy changes in 2022," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "The record expenditures led to one out of seven companies in the S&P 500 increasing their earnings-per-share by at least 4% thanks to their newly lowered share count, up from the one-in-thirteen in Q3 2021. While the EPS uplift remained well below the one in four rate of 2019, the direction is clear, with declared new programs setting the stage for increased buying in 2022.
Outlook for Q1 2022:
Silverblatt added, "Current indications are that companies have maintained their buybacks through the recent downturn, which means they'll be getting more shares for their expenditures and reducing share count even further, resulting in higher EPS. Earnings, which have set a record in Q4, are expected to remain strong, but not set a record, with margins declining due to costs and supply issues, but still provide sufficient cash-flow to continue the buybacks, dividends, and growth."
"Q1 2022 buybacks are expected to set a new record, with a wider range of issues benefiting from the EPS lift. Beyond Q1 however, it is unclear, as inflation and the Russia-Ukraine conflict may reduce excess buybacks. At the minimum, companies are expected to cover exercised options, with stronger-cash-flow issues continuing to reduce shares. Given the strong base buying, expected earnings, even with a potential consumer slow-down and lower margins, buybacks could set another record in 2022."
Q4 2021 GICS® Sector Analysis:
Information Technology continued to lead in buybacks, even as its percentage of buybacks declined. In Q4 2021, IT's share declined to 27.7% of all S&P 500 buybacks compared to Q3 2021's 28.2% and Q2 2021's 31.6%, and was down from Q4 2020's 42.9%, as expenditures increased (13.3%) to $74.9 billion from the prior quarter's $66.1 billion and were 33.5% higher than the Q4 2020 expenditure of $56.1 billion. For 2021, the sector spent $260.0 billion, representing 29.5% of all S&P buybacks, up from 2020's $201.9 billion, which represented 38.8% of all buybacks. For the 10-years, the sector spent $1.71 trillion, representing 28.5% of the expenditures.
Financial buybacks decreased 16.8%, spending $51.5 billion in Q4 2021 representing 19.1% of all buybacks, down from the Q3 2021 $61.9 billion, which accounted for 26.4% of the buybacks. Financial sector buybacks were 279% higher than the Q4 2020 $13.6 billion expenditure, when the Fed limited buybacks. For 2021, the group spent $190.6 billion (21.6% of all buybacks), up from the prior period of $80.7 billion (15.5%).
Energy buybacks increased by 156% for the quarter, to $7.6 billion, from the prior quarter's $3.0 billion and up from the Q4 2020 $0.3 billion; for Q4 2019 they spent $5.0 billion and 10 years ago, in Q4 2011, they spent $12.3 billion. As a percentage of all buybacks, the sector increased to 2.8% of all buybacks from the prior quarter's 1.3%, and Q4 2020's 0.3%.
Communication Services buybacks increased by 22.9%, to $43.3 billion, from the prior quarter's $35.2 billion and up from the Q4 2020 $16.6 billion. As a percentage of all buybacks, the sector increased to 16.0% of all buybacks from the prior quarter's 15.0%, and the Q4 2020 12.7%.
Issues:
The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q4 2021 are:
- Apple (AAPL) continued to be the poster child for buybacks as it again spent the most of any issue, with the Q4 2021 expenditure ranked fourth highest in S&P history. For the quarter, the company spent $23.4 billion, up 14.3% from Q3 2021's $20.4 billion. Apple holds 17 of the top 20 record quarters (Meta Platforms holds #8, QUALCOM holds #9 and T-Mobile holds #20). For 2021, Apple spent $88.3 billion on buybacks, up from 2020's $81.5 billion. Over the five-year period, they have spent $360.2 billion and $510.7 billion over the ten-year period.
- Meta Platforms (FB) was next: $21.6 billion for Q4 2021, ranking eighth highest in index history, up from $15.0 billion in Q3 2021; the 2021 expenditure was $50.1 billion versus $9.8 billion for 2020.
- Alphabet (GOOG/L): $13.5 billion for Q4 2021, up from $12.6 billion in Q3 2021; the 2021 expenditure was $50.3 billion versus $31.1 billion.
- Bank of America (BAC): $7.5 billion for Q3 2021, down from $9.9 billion in Q3 2021; the 2021 expenditure was $25.1 billion versus $7.0 billion.
- Microsoft (MSFT): $7.4 billion for Q4 2021, down from $7.7 billion in Q3 2021; the 2021 expenditure was $29.2 billion versus $26.1 billion.
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 & | ||||
VALUE | EARNINGS | EARNINGS | DIVIDENDS | BUYBACKS | DIVIDEND | BUYBACK | BUYBACK | |
$ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | $ BILLIONS | YIELD | YIELD | YIELD | |
2021 Prelim. | $40,356 | $1,738.62 | $1,652.78 | $511.23 | $881.72 | 1.27% | 2.18% | 3.45% |
2020 | $31,659 | $1,019.04 | $784.21 | $483.18 | $519.76 | 1.53% | 1.64% | 3.17% |
2019 | $26,760 | $1,304.76 | $1,158.22 | $485.48 | $728.74 | 1.81% | 2.72% | 4.54% |
2018 | $21,027 | $1,281.66 | $1,119.43 | $456.31 | $806.41 | 2.17% | 3.84% | 6.01% |
2017 | $22,821 | $1,066.00 | $940.86 | $419.77 | $519.40 | 1.84% | 2.28% | 4.12% |
12/31/2022 | $40,356 | $456.22 | $434.29 | $133.90 | $270.10 | 1.27% | 2.18% | 3.45% |
9/30/2021 | $36,538 | $441.26 | $420.64 | $130.04 | $234.64 | 1.37% | 2.03% | 3.40% |
6/30/2021 | $36,325 | $439.95 | $409.02 | $123.38 | $198.84 | 1.33% | 1.68% | 3.01% |
3/31/2021 | $33,619 | $401.19 | $388.84 | $123.91 | $178.13 | 1.43% | 1.48% | 2.91% |
12/31/2020 | $31,659 | $321.81 | $265.00 | $121.62 | $130.59 | 1.53% | 1.64% | 3.17% |
9/30/2020 | $27,868 | $314.06 | $273.29 | $115.54 | $101.79 | 1.75% | 2.05% | 3.80% |
6/30/2020 | $25,637 | $221.53 | $147.44 | $119.04 | $88.66 | 1.93% | 2.52% | 4.45% |
3/31/2020 | $21,424 | $161.64 | $98.48 | $126.98 | $198.72 | 2.31% | 3.37% | 5.68% |
12/31/2019 | $26,760 | $324.52 | $294.29 | $126.35 | $181.58 | 1.81% | 2.72% | 4.54% |
9/30/2019 | $24,707 | $330.42 | $282.12 | $123.12 | $175.89 | 1.94% | 3.12% | 5.06% |
6/28/2019 | $24,423 | $333.26 | $290.00 | $118.68 | $165.46 | 1.93% | 3.27% | 5.20% |
3/29/2019 | $23,619 | $316.56 | $291.82 | $117.33 | $205.81 | 1.97% | 3.49% | 5.45% |
12/31/2018 | $21,027 | $293.82 | $242.91 | $119.81 | $222.98 | 2.17% | 3.84% | 6.01% |
9/30/2018 | $24,579 | $349.04 | $306.70 | $115.72 | $203.76 | 1.81% | 2.93% | 4.75% |
6/30/2018 | $23,036 | $327.53 | $288.55 | $111.60 | $190.62 | 1.89% | 2.80% | 4.69% |
3/29/2018 | $22,496 | $311.26 | $281.28 | $109.18 | $189.05 | 1.90% | 2.56% | 4.46% |
12/29/2017 | $22,821 | $288.93 | $230.12 | $109.46 | $136.97 | 1.84% | 2.28% | 4.12% |
S&P Dow Jones Indices | |||||||
S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS | |||||||
SECTOR $ MILLIONS | Q4,'21 | Q3,'21 | Q4,'20 | 2021 | 2020 | 5-YEARS | 10-YEARS |
Consumer Discretionary | $30,889 | $20,553 | $8,863 | $86,554 | $29,514 | $354,788 | $753,404 |
Consumer Staples | $12,817 | $8,337 | $8,720 | $39,697 | $19,742 | $177,558 | $398,924 |
Energy | $7,614 | $2,974 | $334 | $12,691 | $4,321 | $78,925 | $217,537 |
Financials | $51,514 | $61,927 | $13,601 | $190,606 | $80,685 | $724,498 | $1,109,695 |
Healthcare | $21,840 | $16,170 | $15,018 | $76,158 | $54,082 | $387,777 | $737,294 |
Industrials | $16,268 | $17,567 | $7,235 | $62,274 | $33,230 | $288,095 | $597,084 |
Information Technology | $74,868 | $66,060 | $56,085 | $260,044 | $201,851 | $1,084,117 | $1,706,735 |
Materials | $9,244 | $5,252 | $2,593 | $23,185 | $8,113 | $67,254 | $134,084 |
Real Estate | $645 | $272 | $732 | $1,385 | $2,661 | $13,889 | $14,648 |
Communication Services | $43,305 | $35,230 | $16,581 | $127,584 | $81,446 | $267,944 | $304,657 |
Utilities | $1,099 | $299 | $831 | $1,541 | $4,115 | $11,179 | $18,274 |
TOTAL | $270,102 | $234,640 | $130,592 | $881,718 | $519,762 | $3,456,024 | $5,992,336 |
SECTOR BUYBACK MAKEUP % | Q4,'21 | Q3,'21 | Q4,'20 | 2021 | 2020 | 5-YEARS | 10-YEARS |
Consumer Discretionary | 11.44% | 8.76% | 6.79% | 9.82% | 5.68% | 10.27% | 12.57% |
Consumer Staples | 4.75% | 3.55% | 6.68% | 4.50% | 3.80% | 5.14% | 6.66% |
Energy | 2.82% | 1.27% | 0.26% | 1.44% | 0.83% | 2.28% | 3.63% |
Financials | 19.07% | 26.39% | 10.41% | 21.62% | 15.52% | 20.96% | 18.52% |
Healthcare | 8.09% | 6.89% | 11.50% | 8.64% | 10.41% | 11.22% | 12.30% |
Industrials | 6.02% | 7.49% | 5.54% | 7.06% | 6.39% | 8.34% | 9.96% |
Information Technology | 27.72% | 28.15% | 42.95% | 29.49% | 38.84% | 31.37% | 28.48% |
Materials | 3.42% | 2.24% | 1.99% | 2.63% | 1.56% | 1.95% | 2.24% |
Real Estate | 0.24% | 0.12% | 0.56% | 0.16% | 0.51% | 0.40% | 0.24% |
Communication Services | 16.03% | 15.01% | 12.70% | 14.47% | 15.67% | 7.75% | 5.08% |
Utilities | 0.41% | 0.13% | 0.64% | 0.17% | 0.79% | 0.32% | 0.30% |
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 2021 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS | ||||||||||
Company | Ticker | Sector | Q4 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 20220 | 12-Months | 12-Months | 5-Year | 10-Year | Indicated |
Buybacks | Buybacks | Buybacks | Dec,'21 | Dec,'20 | Buybacks | Buybacks | Dividend | |||
$ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | $ Million | |||
Apple | AAPL | Information Technology | $23,366 | $20,449 | $27,636 | $88,257 | $81,543 | $360,158 | $510,653 | $15,198 |
Meta Platforms | FB | Communication Services | $21,569 | $15,033 | $3,049 | $50,052 | $9,836 | $87,736 | $91,567 | $0 |
Alphabet | GOOGL | Communication Services | $13,473 | $12,610 | $7,904 | $50,274 | $31,149 | $113,740 | $119,213 | $0 |
Bank of America | BAC | Financials | $7,533 | $9,914 | $263 | $25,126 | $7,025 | $93,203 | $105,584 | $7,812 |
Microsoft | MSFT | Information Technology | $7,433 | $7,684 | $6,535 | $29,224 | $26,128 | $99,561 | $152,663 | $18,620 |
Oracle | ORCL | Information Technology | $7,076 | $8,815 | $4,059 | $28,009 | $18,832 | $106,979 | $153,258 | $5,931 |
Wells Fargo | WFC | Financials | $6,949 | $5,318 | $513 | $14,678 | $4,251 | $75,029 | $111,024 | $3,987 |
Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | Financials | $6,869 | $7,632 | $8,994 | $27,061 | $24,706 | $57,963 | $57,963 | $0 |
Cisco Systems | CSCO | Information Technology | $5,110 | $406 | $997 | $7,143 | $3,187 | $54,125 | $81,191 | $6,411 |
Procter & Gamble | PG | Consumer Staples | $4,754 | $2,750 | $3,008 | $13,505 | $5,909 | $40,626 | $62,636 | $8,421 |
Charter Communications | CHTR | Communication Services | $4,597 | $3,666 | $4,349 | $15,431 | $11,217 | $49,635 | $51,280 | $0 |
Home Depot | HD | Consumer Discretionary | $4,435 | $3,469 | $0 | $14,809 | $791 | $40,528 | $73,938 | $8,021 |
Visa I | V | Information Technology | $4,217 | $2,969 | $1,930 | $11,107 | $7,687 | $42,329 | $64,817 | $2,516 |
Lowe's Companies | LOW | Consumer Discretionary | $4,013 | $2,825 | $3,443 | $13,012 | $4,971 | $28,525 | $48,053 | $2,216 |
Starbucks | SBUX | Consumer Discretionary | $3,635 | $3 | $89 | $3,643 | $710 | $24,701 | $30,875 | $2,313 |
eBay | EBAY | Consumer Discretionary | $3,139 | $2,291 | $471 | $7,291 | $5,312 | $23,415 | $34,145 | $551 |
Broadcom | AVGO | Information Technology | $3,099 | $266 | $225 | $4,173 | $821 | $18,884 | $19,022 | $6,751 |
American Express | AXP | Financials | $2,971 | $3,284 | $3 | $7,652 | $1,029 | $19,451 | $40,753 | $1,645 |
Morgan Stanley | MS | Financials | $2,847 | $3,628 | $50 | $12,075 | $1,890 | $29,777 | $38,851 | $6,280 |
Bristol-Myers Squibb | BMY | Health Care | $2,751 | $525 | $1,465 | $6,287 | $1,546 | $17,922 | $20,994 | $4,794 |
Top 20 | $139,836 | $113,537 | $74,983 | $428,809 | $248,540 | $1,384,287 | $1,868,480 | $101,465 | ||
S&P 500 | $270,102 | $234,640 | $130,592 | $881,718 | $519,762 | $3,456,024 | $5,992,336 | $583,883 | ||
Top 20 % of S&P 500 | 51.77% | 48.39% | 57.42% | 48.63% | 47.82% | 40.05% | 31.18% | 17.38% | ||
S&P Dow Jones Indices | |||
S&P 500 Q4 2021 Buyback Report | |||
SECTOR | DIVIDEND | BUYBACK | COMBINED |
YIELD | YIELD | YIELD | |
Consumer Discretionary | 0.78% | 2.01% | 2.78% |
Consumer Staples | 3.14% | 1.72% | 4.86% |
Energy | 3.52% | 0.87% | 4.39% |
Financials | 2.09% | 4.61% | 6.70% |
HealthCare | 1.63% | 1.51% | 3.14% |
Industrials | 1.68% | 2.12% | 3.79% |
Information Technology | 0.98% | 2.57% | 3.55% |
Materials | 2.01% | 2.45% | 4.46% |
Real Estate | 2.72% | 0.14% | 2.85% |
Communications Services | 1.25% | 4.69% | 5.94% |
Utilities | 3.00% | 0.16% | 3.15% |
S&P 500 | 1.63% | 2.45% | 4.08% |
Uses full values (unadjusted for float) | |||
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q4,'21 | |||
Share Count Changes | ||
(Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS) | >=4% | <=-4% |
Q4 2021 | 10.12% | 14.57% |
Q3 2021 | 10.22% | 7.41% |
Q2 2021 | 11.02% | 5.41% |
Q1 2021 | 10.40% | 5.80% |
Q4 2020 | 9.02% | 6.01% |
Q3 2020 | 8.62% | 9.62% |
Q2 2020 | 8.60% | 17.80% |
Q1 2020 | 8.00% | 19.60% |
Q4 2019 | 7.63% | 20.68% |
Q3 2019 | 8.62% | 22.85% |
Q2 2019 | 7.98% | 24.15% |
Q1 2019 | 8.03% | 24.90% |
Q4 2018 | 8.45% | 18.71% |
ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES
S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.
S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit: www.spdji.com.
SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices
