S&P 500 Q1 2025 Buybacks Set Quarterly Record at $293 Billion, Up 20.6%, Helping EPS Growth; Impact and Expenditures Expected to Decline in Q2 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

S&P 500 companies set a new quarterly record for stock buybacks in Q1 2025, reaching $293.5 billion, up 20.6% from Q4 2024 and 23.9% from Q1 2024. The 12-month buyback expenditure through March 2025 totaled $999.2 billion, showing a 22.4% increase year-over-year.

Information Technology led buybacks with 27.3% of total expenditure ($80.2 billion), followed by Financials at 20.2% ($59.4 billion). Apple remained the top buyback spender with $26.2 billion in Q1. The 1% buyback tax reduced Q1 2025 operating earnings by 0.50%.

However, buyback activity is expected to decline in Q2 2025 due to market turmoil and volatility, with expenditures likely limited to companies with secure cash flows primarily for employee options rather than discretionary share count reduction.

Positive

• Record quarterly buybacks of $293.5 billion in Q1 2025, up 20.6% from previous quarter
• 384 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million, up from 342 in Q4 2024
• 13.7% of companies reduced share counts by at least 4% year-over-year, improving EPS
• Total shareholder returns (buybacks + dividends) reached record $457.6 billion in Q1 2025

Negative

• Buyback activity expected to decline in Q2 2025 due to market turmoil and volatility
• 1% buyback tax impact increased to 0.50% of operating earnings in Q1 2025 from 0.37% in Q4 2024
• Dividends decreased 2.1% to $164.1 billion from Q4 2024's record
• Potential increase in buyback tax rate could impact future corporate buyback decisions

Insights

Financial Analyst

S&P 500 companies set buyback record at $293.5B in Q1 2025, boosting EPS despite 1% tax; expected to decline in Q2.

The S&P 500 has reached a significant milestone with Q1 2025 buybacks hitting a record $293.5 billion, surpassing the previous high of $281 billion from Q1 2022. This represents a substantial 20.6% increase from Q4 2024 and 23.9% year-over-year growth. The 12-month expenditure through March 2025 reached $999.2 billion, approaching the all-time peak of $1.005 trillion from June 2022.

Corporate America's commitment to returning capital to shareholders is evident in the combined shareholder returns (buybacks plus dividends) reaching a record $457.6 billion for the quarter and $1.641 trillion for the trailing 12 months. This demonstrates strong corporate cash flows despite economic uncertainties.

The buyback trend remains concentrated among technology giants, with Apple leading at $26.2 billion, followed by Meta ($17.6B), NVIDIA ($15.6B), and Alphabet ($15.1B). Notably, the top 20 companies accounted for 48.4% of all buybacks, slightly below the previous quarter but still above historical averages.

Sector-wise, Information Technology remained dominant with $80.2 billion (27.3% of total), while Communication Services showed the strongest growth at 56.5%. Conversely, Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary reduced buybacks by 25.6% and 16.8% respectively, potentially signaling caution in consumer-facing industries.

The 1% buyback tax implemented in 2023 has had a modest impact, reducing Q1 2025 operating earnings by just 0.50% and GAAP earnings by 0.53%. However, there's speculation about potential increases to this tax rate, which could alter corporate behavior if rates rise to 2-2.5%.

Looking ahead, the outlook for buybacks appears mixed. Q2 2025 is expected to show decreased activity due to "market turmoil, volatility and uncertainty," with companies limiting repurchases to covering employee stock options rather than discretionary share count reductions. Despite this, full-year 2025 buybacks are still on track for a record, though their earnings-per-share impact may diminish.

• S&P 500 Q1 2025 buybacks were $293.5 billion, setting a quarterly record, previously held by Q1 2022's $281.0 billion expenditure (when prices were 23.9% lower), and were up 20.6% from Q4 2024's $243.2 billion and up 23.9% from Q1 2024's $236.8 billion
• The 12-month March 2025 expenditure was $999.2 billion and was up 22.4% from the 12-month March 2024 expenditure of $816.5 billion
• Communication Services increased spending by 56.5% and Information Technology increased 25.8%, as Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary reduced their spending by 25.6% and 16.8%, respectively
• The net buyback 1% tax reduced Q1 2025 operating earnings by 0.50% and As Reported GAAP by 0.53%, as the 12-month cost was 0.43% and 0.47%, respectively

NEW YORK, June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today announced the preliminary S&P 500^® stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q1 2025.

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

Key Highlights:

• Q1 2025 share repurchases set a quarterly record at $293.5 billion, up 20.6% from Q4 2024's $243.2 billion expenditure, and up 23.9% from Q1 2024's $236.8 billion.
• For the 12-month March 2025 period buybacks were $999.2 billion, up from $816.5 billion for the prior 12-month period; the 12-month peak was in June 2022 with $1.005 trillion.
• 384 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, up from 342 in Q4 2024 and up from 352 in Q1 2024; 402 companies did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 399 in Q4 2024 and up from 380 in Q1 2024; 436 companies did some buybacks in the 12-month March 2025 period, up from 419 in the prior period.
• Buybacks remained top heavy as concentration decreased, with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for 48.4% of Q1 2025 buybacks, down from Q4 2024's 49.0%, and above the historical average of 47.7% and above the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.
• 13.7% of companies reduced share counts used for earnings per share (EPS) by at least 4% year-over-year, up from Q4 2024's 12.0% and up from Q1 2024's 13.3%; for Q1 2025 125 issues increased their shares used for EPS over Q4 2024 and 326 reduced them.
• S&P 500 Q1 2025 dividends decreased 2.1%, to $164.1 billion from the record Q4 2024's $167.6 billion and were 8.4% greater than the $151.6 billion in Q1 2024.
• For the 12-month March 2025 period, dividends set a record $642.1 billion payment, up 8.3% on an aggregate basis from prior 12-month's $593.1 billion.
• Total shareholders return of buybacks and dividends increased to a record $457.6 billion in Q1 2025, up 11.4% from Q4 2024's $410.8 billion and up 17.8% from Q1 2024's $388.4 billion.
• Total shareholder returns for the 12-month March 2025 period increased 16.4% to a record $1.641 trillion from the 12-month March 2024's $1.410 trillion.
• The 1% tax on net buybacks, which started in 2023, reduced the Q1 2025 S&P 500 operating earnings by 0.50%, up from Q4 2024's 0.37%, as it reduced As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.53%, up from the prior 0.39%. For the 12-months ending in March 2025, the 1% tax on net buybacks reduced earnings by 0.43% for operating and 0.47% for As Reported.

"Companies bulked up on buybacks in Q1 2025, as the expenditures set a record level along with a stronger positive impact on earnings per share via share count reduction. The pre-tariff announcement quarter also saw a noticeable increase in the number of companies doing buybacks, as well as those purchasing over 1% of their public stock.

For the second quarter, given the market turmoil, volatility and uncertainty, buybacks appeared to be limited to those issues with secure cash-flows, with the shares purchased intended to be used for employee options, compared to discretionary buybacks used for share count reduction, which increase earnings per share.

For the second half of 2025, the need for shares to cover employee options is expected to increase, based on the expectation that stock prices at least hold their level and set a base for the level for buybacks. Discretionary buybacks by higher level cash-flow issues are expected to at least hold their level, as the full year 2025 appears on track to set a new expenditure level, even as the earnings per share impact from buybacks will be well of a record impact.

The expected record is contingent on earnings holding their expected record level for 2025, even as the growth rate has deteriorated to the mid-single digit level from the 2024-year end double-digit expectation," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

1% Buyback Excise Tax:

The 1% excise tax on net buybacks reduced Q1 2025 operating earnings by 0.50%, up from Q4 2024's 0.37% and up from the 0.47% for Q1 2024. The 12-month impact was 0.43%, up from 12-month March 2024's 0.41%, as the tax on As Reported GAAP earnings impact increased to 0.47% from the prior 0.46%.

Silverblatt added: "The 1% tax continues to be 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 remains on the negotiating table in Washington. 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. Under a potential increased tax, some of the buyback expenditures may shift 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."

Q1 2025 GICS® Sector Analysis:

Information Technology maintained its lead in buybacks, as its expenditure's increased 25.8%, as it represented 27.3% of all buybacks for the quarter. Q1 2025 expenditures increased to $80.2 billion, compared to Q4 2024's $63.7 billion, and were up 39.9% from Q1 2024's $57.3 billion expenditure. For the 12-months ending March 2025, the sector increased its expenditure 32.0% to $276.2 billion, representing 27.6% of all S&P 500 buybacks, compared to the prior 12-month periods $209.3 billion which represented 25.6% of all buybacks.

Financials increased buybacks by 41.0% for Q1 2025 as it collectively spent $59.4 billion on buybacks, accounting for 20.2% of all S&P 500 buybacks. This was up for the quarter compared to Q4 2024's expenditure of $42.1 billion, and up 37.9% from Q1 2024's $43.1 billion. For the 12-months, Financials spent $190.9 billion, up from the prior $134.5 billion.

Communication Services increased its Q1 2025 expenditure by 56.5%, spending $45.5 billion, compared to the Q4 2024 expenditure of $29.1 billion, and was up 0.9% from Q1 2024's $45.1 billion expenditure. For the 12-months, the sector spent $142.9 billion, up from the prior 12-month period's $137.2 billion.

Consumer Staples decreased their spending in Q1 2025 by 25.6% to $11.4 billion from Q4 2024's $15.3 billion, as its 12-month expenditure was $44.90 billion up from the prior 12-month's $30.3 billion, as the Consumer Discretionary expenditure declined to $18.2 billion for Q1 2025 from Q4 2024's $21.9 billion, as the sectors 12-month expenditures declined to $78.8 billion from the prior $81.2 billion.

Issues:

The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q1 2025 were:

• Apple (AAPL): continued to dominate the issue level buybacks as it again spent the most of any issue with its Q1 2025 expenditure, ranking as the fourth highest in S&P 500 history. For the quarter, the company spent $26.2 billion, down from Q4 2024's $26.5 billion. Apple holds 18 of the top 20 record quarters (Meta Platforms holds #18 and QUALCOMM holds #20). For the 12-month period ending March 2025, Apple spent $106.9 billion on buybacks, up from the prior 12-month's $87.4 billion. Over the five-year period, Apple has spent $459 billion, and $735 billion over the ten-year period.
• Meta Platforms (META): $17.6 billion for Q1 2025, up from $3.9 billion in Q4 2024. The 12-month expenditure was $43.4 billion versus the prior 12-month's $34.6 billion.
• NVIDA (NVDA): $15.6 billion for Q1 2025, up from $9.7 billion in Q4 2024. The 12-month expenditure was $46.8 billion versus $21.3 billion.
• Alphabet (GOOG/GOOGL): $15.1 billion for Q1 2025, down from $15.6 billion in Q4 2024. The 12-month expenditure was $61.6 billion versus $62.6 billion.
• JP Morgan (JPM): $7.5 billion for Q1 2025, up from $4.3 billion in Q4 2024. The 12-month expenditure was $23.5 billion versus $10.0 billion.

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
3/31/2025	$2.43	0.50 %	0.53 %
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
SECTOR $ MILLIONS	Q1,'25	Q4,'24	Q1,'24	12MoMar,'25	12MoMar,'24	5-YEARS	10-YEARS
Consumer Discretionary	$18,200	$21,863	$16,059	$78,824	$81,248	$372,592	$789,736
Consumer Staples	$11,385	$15,309	$11,998	$44,894	$30,318	$173,086	$373,939
Energy	$16,508	$17,477	$14,157	$68,968	$64,703	$229,906	$311,156
Financials	$59,419	$42,133	$43,087	$190,893	$134,549	$718,418	$1,394,649
Healthcare	$26,129	$26,402	$25,522	$88,262	$67,077	$390,847	$806,203
Industrials	$29,005	$20,733	$16,854	$82,419	$70,837	$324,358	$673,840
Information Technology	$80,164	$63,741	$57,290	$276,242	$209,260	$1,196,142	$2,112,310
Materials	$5,378	$4,732	$5,241	$19,755	$16,636	$95,297	$155,325
Real Estate	$952	$660	$620	$2,544	$1,787	$11,363	$23,285
Communication Services	$45,515	$29,084	$45,126	$142,895	$137,232	$629,915	$710,396
Utilities	$798	$1,109	$868	$3,483	$2,806	$14,677	$23,437
TOTAL	$293,451	$243,243	$236,823	$999,178	$816,454	$4,156,602	$7,374,275
SECTOR BUYBACK MAKEUP %	Q1,'25	Q4,'24	Q1,'24	12MoMar,'25	12MoMar,'24	5-YEARS	10-YEARS
Consumer Discretionary	6.20 %	8.99 %	6.78 %	7.89 %	9.95 %	8.96 %	10.71 %
Consumer Staples	3.88 %	6.29 %	5.07 %	4.49 %	3.71 %	4.16 %	5.07 %
Energy	5.63 %	7.18 %	5.98 %	6.90 %	7.92 %	5.53 %	4.22 %
Financials	20.25 %	17.32 %	18.19 %	19.10 %	16.48 %	17.28 %	18.91 %
Healthcare	8.90 %	10.85 %	10.78 %	8.83 %	8.22 %	9.40 %	10.93 %
Industrials	9.88 %	8.52 %	7.12 %	8.25 %	8.68 %	7.80 %	9.14 %
Information Technology	27.32 %	26.20 %	24.19 %	27.65 %	25.63 %	28.78 %	28.64 %
Materials	1.83 %	1.95 %	2.21 %	1.98 %	2.04 %	2.29 %	2.11 %
Real Estate	0.32 %	0.27 %	0.26 %	0.25 %	0.22 %	0.27 %	0.32 %
Communication Services	15.51 %	11.96 %	19.05 %	14.30 %	16.81 %	15.15 %	9.63 %
Utilities	0.27 %	0.46 %	0.37 %	0.35 %	0.34 %	0.35 %	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 Q1 2025 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS
Company	Ticker	Sector	Q1 2025	Q4 2024	Q1 2024	12-Months	12-Months	5-Year	10-Year	Indicated
			Buybacks	Buybacks	Buybacks	Mar,'25	Mar,'24	Buybacks	Buybacks	Dividend
			$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million
Apple	AAPL	Information Technology	$26,182	$26,527	$23,489	$106,880	$87,397	$459,378	$735,413	$15,623
Meta Platforms	META	Communication Services	$17,637	$3,857	$18,170	$43,362	$34,582	$177,817	$207,611	$4,599
NVIDIA	NVDA	Information Technology	$15,627	$9,673	$9,492	$46,771	$21,301	$82,717	$89,071	$980
Alphabet	GOOGL	Communication Services	$15,068	$15,551	$15,696	$61,594	$62,643	$271,017	$317,303	$4,900
JPMorgan Chase	JPM	Financials	$7,528	$4,301	$2,832	$23,526	$9,966	$57,752	$136,461	$15,658
Goldman Sachs	GS	Financials	$6,211	$2,000	$2,752	$12,790	$6,068	$33,989	$66,299	$3,744
Exxon Mobil	XOM	Energy	$4,804	$5,780	$3,011	$21,422	$16,419	$57,591	$63,099	$17,238
Microsoft	MSFT	Information Technology	$4,781	$4,986	$4,213	$18,084	$18,748	$119,245	$198,722	$24,681
Visa	V	Financials	$4,603	$4,246	$2,767	$19,251	$13,323	$61,146	$98,081	$4,067
Walmart	WMT	Consumer Staples	$4,555	$1,445	$1,059	$7,990	$3,152	$33,437	$67,713	$4,078
Bank of America	BAC	Financials	$4,521	$3,535	$2,500	$15,125	$4,861	$53,063	$127,963	$6,886
Broadcom	AVGO	Information Technology	$4,216	$2,036	$1,548	$8,806	$12,582	$36,460	$50,569	$11,062
Chevron	CVX	Energy	$3,699	$4,509	$2,891	$15,852	$13,962	$42,842	$48,962	$11,432
Caterpillar	CAT	Industrials	$3,660	$680	$4,455	$6,942	$9,054	$23,384	$33,898	$2,696
Netflix	NFLX	Communication Services	$3,564	$966	$2,002	$7,835	$7,647	$16,706	$16,706	$0
Wells Fargo	WFC	Financials	$3,500	$4,000	$6,001	$16,947	$13,836	$55,834	$130,362	$5,262
Adobe	ADBE	Information Technology	$3,409	$2,652	$2,222	$11,364	$5,647	$32,726	$42,939	$0
UnitedHealth Group	UNH	Health Care	$3,000	$4,972	$3,072	$8,928	$9,072	$34,559	$49,334	$8,135
Mastercard	MA	Financials	$2,826	$3,473	$2,162	$11,877	$8,329	$41,200	$64,327	$2,476
T-Mobile US	TMUS	Communication Services	$2,766	$4,712	$3,786	$10,477	$12,351	$51,027	$53,383	$1,688
Top 20			$142,157	$109,901	$114,120	$475,823	$370,940	$1,741,890	$2,598,216	$145,204
S&P 500			$293,451	$243,278	$238,282	$999,031	$822,976	$4,156,040	$7,236,792	$652,352
Top 20 % of S&P 500			48.44 %	45.18 %	47.89 %	47.63 %	45.07 %	41.91 %	35.90 %	22.26 %
Gross values are not adjusted for float

 

S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 Q1 2025 Buyback Report
SECTOR	DIVIDEND	BUYBACK	COMBINED
	YIELD	YIELD	YIELD
Consumer Discretionary	0.71 %	1.51 %	2.21 %
Consumer Staples	2.44 %	1.54 %	3.98 %
Energy	3.59 %	4.47 %	8.06 %
Financials	1.44 %	2.63 %	4.07 %
HealthCare	1.91 %	1.81 %	3.72 %
Industrials	1.32 %	1.87 %	3.19 %
Information Technology	0.62 %	1.69 %	2.31 %
Materials	2.01 %	1.93 %	3.94 %
Real Estate	3.37 %	0.24 %	3.61 %
Communications Services	0.95 %	3.45 %	4.40 %
Utilities	2.96 %	0.28 %	3.25 %
S&P 500	1.31 %	2.00 %	3.30 %
Uses full values (unadjusted for float)
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q1,'25

 

Share Count Changes
(Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS)	>=4%	<=-4%
Q1 2025	5.82 %	13.65 %
Q4 2024	6.63 %	12.05 %
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 %

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alyssa.augustyn@spglobal.com

S&P Dow Jones Indices:
Howard Silverblatt
Senior Index Analyst
(+1) 973 769 2306
howard.silverblatt@spglobal.com 

 

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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

FAQ

What was the total amount of S&P 500 buybacks in Q1 2025?

S&P 500 companies spent $293.5 billion on buybacks in Q1 2025, setting a new quarterly record and representing a 20.6% increase from Q4 2024.

Which company spent the most on buybacks in Q1 2025?

Apple (AAPL) led buybacks with $26.2 billion in Q1 2025, followed by Meta Platforms at $17.6 billion and NVIDIA at $15.6 billion.

How did the 1% buyback tax affect S&P 500 earnings in Q1 2025?

The 1% buyback tax reduced Q1 2025 operating earnings by 0.50% and As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.53%, up from Q4 2024's 0.37% and 0.39% respectively.

What sectors led S&P 500 buybacks in Q1 2025?

Information Technology led with 27.3% of all buybacks ($80.2 billion), followed by Financials at 20.2% ($59.4 billion) and Communication Services at 15.5% ($45.5 billion).

What is the outlook for S&P 500 buybacks in Q2 2025?

Buybacks are expected to decline in Q2 2025 due to market turmoil and volatility, with activity limited to companies with secure cash flows primarily for employee options rather than discretionary share count reduction.