- Four Big Tech firms splurged over $1 trillion on stock buybacks in 10 years, S&P Global data shows.
- Apple spent over $600 billion on its own shares, more than Alphabet, Microsoft, and Meta combined.
- The quartet's outlay on buybacks exceeds the market values of Tesla, Meta, and Berkshire Hathaway.
Four Big Tech companies have plowed a combined $1 trillion into stock buybacks over the past decade, S&P Global data shows.
Apple spent an unmatched $621 billion on its own stock in the 10 years to March 31. Google-parent Alphabet ranked second with $193 billion of share repurchases over the same period. Microsoft and Meta Platforms splurged $180 billion and $130 billion respectively, the S&P Global data shows.
The tech quartet have collectively poured $1.1 trillion into buybacks since early 2013, more than the market value of Tesla ($805 billion), Berkshire Hathaway ($781 billion), or Meta ($767 billion). Their 10-year outlay also rivals Nvidia's current market capitalization of $1.2 trillion.
Other companies aren't far behind in the rankings. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan each spent between $110 billion and $120 billion in the 10-year period. Home Depot, Berkshire, and Johnson & Johnson rounded out the top 10 with outlays of $70 billion, $77 billion, and $113 billion each.
The 20 biggest spenders have spent about $2 trillion on buybacks over the last decade — a big chunk of the $6.6 trillion deployed by S&P 500 companies as a whole in the period.
Buybacks reduce a company's total number of outstanding shares, increasing shareholders' ownership. Executives also use them to signal they believe their stock is undervalued and a good investment.
Historically, they've been more common among mature companies that are focused on returning cash to shareholders instead of growing their businesses. Technology companies tend to have better uses for their cash such as expansion, investing in new facilities and equipment, researching and developing new products, or making acquisitions.
Warren Buffett is famously a big fan of buybacks, if a company has plenty of cash to cover its operational and liquidity needs, and its stock is trading at a material discount to its intrinsic value. He's touted them as good for stockholders and stock sellers, safer than acquisitions, more efficient than dividends, and a way for executives to show they care about shareholder returns.
Indeed, Buffett's Berkshire has seen its Apple stake grow to nearly 6% in recent years without it having to spend a penny, thanks to the iPhone maker's buybacks.
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