NEW YORK, Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P
Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today that preliminary
Q3 2018 S&P 500® stock
buybacks, or share repurchases, surpassed the $200 billion mark for the first time to set a
record $203.8 billion. This is
the third consecutive record, displacing the prior quarterly
record of $190.6 billion, set during
Q2 2018 and a 57.7% increase from the $129.2 billion reported for Q3 2017. For the
first three quarters of 2018, buybacks are up 52.6% to $583.4 billion from the prior year's $382.4 billion, and stand 1% away from the annual
record, set in 2007, of $589.1
billion with a full quarter yet to report.
For the 12-month period ending September 2018, S&P 500 issues spent a
record $720.4 billion on
buybacks, up 39.1% from $517.7
billion for the corresponding 2017 period.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at
www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.
Key Takeaways:
- The percentage of issues with substantially reduced share
counts of at least 4% year-over-year rose to 17.7%, up from the
prior quarter's 15.4%. This is the highest since the 19.4% posted
in Q4 2016.
- For Q3 2018, 88 issues experienced substantially reduced share
counts, up from 79 for Q2 2018 and 70 for Q3 2017.
- Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends for the
quarter set a record of $319.5
billion, up 36.2% from the $234.6
billion reported for Q3 2017.
- S&P 500 dividends totaled $115.7
billion, a new record, up 3.7% from the $111.6 billion in Q2 2018.
- Total shareholder return for the 12-month period ending
September 2018 set a record at
$1.166 trillion, surpassing Q2's
record $1.081 trillion, and up 25.2%
from $931.9 billion for the
corresponding 2017 period.
- 286 S&P 500 issues reduced their share count during Q3
2018, compared to 305 during Q2 2018 and 274 during Q3 2017.
"Companies have used their tax savings to push up discretionary
buybacks and boost earnings through significantly reduced share
counts," said Howard Silverblatt,
Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Adding to
the impact, Q4 average issue prices have declined 3.3% which would
increase the number of shares a company can buy with the same
expenditure and further increase the EPS tailwind."
"The buying, while broad, continued to be top heavy, with the
top 20 issues accounting for 54.3% of all S&P 500 buybacks, a
level not seen since Q1 2010, when it was at 59.8%."
Q2 2018 GICS® Sector Analysis:
Information Technology expenditures increased 15.1%,
after Q2's 12.8% gain, to $82.3
billion – compared to $71.5
billion for Q2 2018 and $27.9
billion for Q3 2017. The sector represents 40.4% of the
index's buybacks, up from 21.6% for Q3 2017.
Energy expenditures increased 71.1% to $7.3 billion compared to $4.3 billion for Q2 2018 and were up 216% from
their $2.3 billion posted in Q3 2017,
but remained at 61.2% of their $112.0
billion Q3 2013 expenditure 5-years ago.
Consumer sectors split, as Consumer Discretionary
buybacks decreased their expenditure 13.1% to $19.7 billion, down from $22.7 billion for Q2 2018. Consumer
Staples increased 52.4% to $10.0
billion, up from $6.6 billion
for Q2 2018.
Issues:
The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q2 2018
are:
- QUALCOMM (QCOM) led in buybacks, spending $21.2 billion in Q3 2018, ranking third on the
top 20 S&P 500 historical list, up from $1.1 billion spent for Q2 2018
- Apple (AAPL) reported $19.4
billion in Q3 2018, down from $21.9
billion spent for Q2 2018, as the quarter ranked fifth
highest historically; Apple holds seven of the top eight positions
for buybacks historically, spending $224.2
billion over the past five-years.
- Oracle (ORCL): $10.3
billion for Q3 2018, up from $5.0
billion for Q2 2018 and $0.8
billion for Q3 2017.
- Wells Fargo (WFC):
$7.4 billion for Q3 2018, up from
$2.9 billion for Q2 2018 and up from
$2.6 billion for Q3 2017.
- Cisco Systems (CSCO): $5.4
billion for Q3 2018, down from $6.1
billion for Q2 2018 and $2.0
billion for Q3 2017.
Total Shareholder Return:
Silverblatt determined that total shareholder
return, through regular cash dividends and buybacks, increased
5.7% to $319.5 billion, up from
$302.2 billion for Q2 2018 and up
26.2% from the $234.6 billion for Q3
2017.
For the 12-month period ending September
2018, shareholder return totaled $1.166 trillion, up 25.2% from $931.9 billion for the 12-month period ending
September 2017.
S&P 500 dividends posted a new record payment for Q3 2018,
at $115.7 billion, and was up 9.7%
from its $105.4 billion Q3 2017
payment. Dividend payments totaled a record $446.0 billion for the 12-month period ending
September 2018, up 7.7% from
$414.1 billion for the 12-month
period ending September 2017.
"Shareholder return for the first three quarters of 2018 has
increased significantly, with Q4 appearing to continue the trend,
as companies give some of their tax savings back to shareholders
directly through dividends, and indirectly through stock
repurchases, as both buybacks and dividends are set to post new
annual records," said Silverblatt.
"Buybacks continue to be a high corporate priority, and
favorite, as they support stock price via more purchases and
increase EPS through lower share counts.
"One strong takeaway is the trend in dividends where more issues
continue to increase with greater average size increases.
Dividends, unlike buybacks, are a pure cash-flow item, so when they
are increased, companies are usually very confident of their future
earnings flow," said Silverblatt.
For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please
visit www.spdji.com.
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
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S&P 500, $
U.S. BILLIONS
|
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(preliminary in
bold)
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|
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|
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 Sep
2018
|
$24,579.28
|
$1,276.68
|
$1,106.65
|
$445.96
|
$720.40
|
1.81%
|
2.93%
|
4.75%
|
$1,166.36
|
12 Months Sep
2017
|
$21,578.98
|
$1,017.18
|
$918.66
|
$414.13
|
$517.72
|
1.92%
|
2.40%
|
4.32%
|
$931.85
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2017
|
$22,821.24
|
$1,066.00
|
$940.86
|
$419.77
|
$519.40
|
1.84%
|
2.28%
|
4.12%
|
$939.17
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9/30/2018
Prelim.
|
$24,579
|
$348.95
|
$306.70
|
$115.72
|
$203.76
|
1.81%
|
2.93%
|
4.75%
|
$319.47
|
6/30/2018
|
$23,036
|
$327.53
|
$288.55
|
$111.60
|
$190.62
|
1.89%
|
2.80%
|
4.69%
|
$302.22
|
3/29/2018
|
$22,496
|
$311.26
|
$281.28
|
$109.18
|
$189.05
|
1.90%
|
2.56%
|
4.46%
|
$298.23
|
12/29/2017
|
$22,821
|
$288.93
|
$230.12
|
$109.46
|
$136.97
|
1.84%
|
2.28%
|
4.12%
|
$246.43
|
9/29/2017
|
$21,579
|
$268.35
|
$243.68
|
$105.45
|
$129.17
|
1.92%
|
2.40%
|
4.32%
|
$234.61
|
6/30/2017
|
$20,762
|
$261.39
|
$231.40
|
$104.01
|
$120.11
|
1.96%
|
2.41%
|
4.37%
|
$224.12
|
3/31/2017
|
$20,276
|
$247.32
|
$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
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
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|
S&P 500 SECTOR
BUYBACKS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTOR $
MILLIONS
|
Q3,'18
|
Q2,'18
|
Q3,'17
|
12MoSep','18
|
12MoSep','17
|
5-YEARS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$19,688
|
$22,656
|
$24,242
|
$81,798
|
$83,398
|
$425,986
|
Consumer
Staples
|
$10,025
|
$6,580
|
$15,578
|
$34,351
|
$51,957
|
$216,679
|
Energy
|
$7,330
|
$4,285
|
$2,320
|
$26,932
|
$8,513
|
$108,642
|
Financials
|
$40,643
|
$29,968
|
$34,252
|
$138,316
|
$117,336
|
$519,274
|
Healthcare
|
$14,482
|
$27,241
|
$9,523
|
$93,170
|
$78,066
|
$374,840
|
Industrials
|
$15,159
|
$23,426
|
$13,087
|
$66,775
|
$56,771
|
$348,001
|
Information
Technology
|
$82,293
|
$71,511
|
$27,926
|
$253,044
|
$111,762
|
$795,091
|
Materials
|
$3,014
|
$3,237
|
$1,412
|
$10,601
|
$6,287
|
$70,385
|
Real
Estate
|
$520
|
$884
|
$806
|
$3,602
|
$2,833
|
$6,891
|
Communication
Services
|
$10,092
|
$419
|
$3
|
$10,690
|
$545
|
$22,412
|
Utilities
|
$509
|
$413
|
$22
|
$1,119
|
$250
|
$5,850
|
TOTAL
|
$203,756
|
$190,621
|
$129,170
|
$720,397
|
$517,720
|
$2,894,052
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500 20
LARGEST Q3 2018 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
Company
|
Ticker
|
Sector
|
Q3,'18
|
12MO
Sep,'18
|
12MO
Sep,'17
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
|
|
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
|
|
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
QUALCOMM
|
QCOM
|
Information
Technology
|
$21,162
|
$22,860
|
$1,610
|
$44,188
|
$51,466
|
Apple
|
AAPL
|
Information
Technology
|
$19,364
|
$75,265
|
$34,774
|
$224,241
|
$250,335
|
Oracle
|
ORCL
|
Information
Technology
|
$10,346
|
$21,366
|
$2,505
|
$51,518
|
$76,987
|
Wells
Fargo
|
WFC
|
Financials
|
$7,393
|
$16,518
|
$9,481
|
$52,056
|
$63,140
|
Cisco
Systems
|
CSCO
|
Information
Technology
|
$5,394
|
$21,616
|
$4,908
|
$44,899
|
$72,315
|
Citigroup
|
C
|
Financials
|
$5,166
|
$15,800
|
$13,599
|
$42,718
|
$45,553
|
Facebook
|
FB
|
Communication
Services
|
$5,161
|
$13,886
|
$3,378
|
$17,526
|
$21,095
|
Bank of
America
|
BAC
|
Financials
|
$5,040
|
$19,732
|
$9,275
|
$38,189
|
$40,058
|
JPMorgan
Chase
|
JPM
|
Financials
|
$4,416
|
$18,863
|
$12,853
|
$49,222
|
$67,227
|
Microsoft
|
MSFT
|
Information
Technology
|
$3,744
|
$11,895
|
$9,996
|
$61,793
|
$100,054
|
Starbucks
|
SBUX
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$3,074
|
$7,196
|
$2,125
|
$13,771
|
$15,944
|
Walgreens Boots
Alliance
|
WBA
|
Consumer
Staples
|
$2,703
|
$5,228
|
$5,220
|
$13,531
|
$19,400
|
Intel
|
INTC
|
Information
Technology
|
$2,684
|
$8,956
|
$4,134
|
$30,686
|
$55,533
|
Boeing
|
BA
|
Industrials
|
$2,461
|
$10,412
|
$8,128
|
$39,075
|
$40,400
|
Home Depot
|
HD
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$2,397
|
$7,451
|
$8,412
|
$36,498
|
$53,104
|
Walmart
|
WMT
|
Consumer
Staples
|
$2,317
|
$5,801
|
$8,700
|
$26,759
|
$61,643
|
Booking
Holdings
|
BKNG
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$2,205
|
$4,815
|
$1,380
|
$10,790
|
$12,240
|
Alphabet
|
GOOG
|
Communication
Services
|
$2,200
|
$8,526
|
$2,745
|
$16,744
|
$17,662
|
Lam
Research
|
LRCX
|
Information
Technology
|
$1,736
|
$4,234
|
$965
|
$6,073
|
$8,423
|
Amgen
|
AMGN
|
Health
Care
|
$1,729
|
$16,650
|
$3,614
|
$24,652
|
$46,126
|
Top
20
|
|
|
$110,692
|
$317,070
|
$147,803
|
$844,928
|
$1,118,705
|
S&P
500
|
|
|
$203,756
|
$720,397
|
$517,720
|
$2,894,053
|
$4,528,798
|
Top 20 % of
S&P 500
|
|
|
54.33%
|
44.01%
|
28.55%
|
29.20%
|
24.70%
|
Gross
values are not adjusted for float
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
S&P 500 20
Largest Quarterly Buybacks, $ Millions, as of Q3 2018 with 2
added
|
|
$
MILLIONS
|
QUARTER
|
COMPANY
|
SECTOR
|
|
$22,756
|
Q1 2018
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
1
|
$21,860
|
Q2 2018
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
2
|
$21,162
|
Q3
2018
|
QUALCOMM
|
Information
Technology
|
3
|
$20,783
|
Q2 2018
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
4
|
$19,364
|
Q3
2018
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
5
|
$17,971
|
Q1 2014
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
6
|
$17,000
|
Q3 2014
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
7
|
$16,000
|
Q2 2013
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
8
|
$15,707
|
Q2 2007
|
International
Business Machines
|
Information
Technology
|
9
|
$13,253
|
Q3 2015
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
10
|
$12,852
|
Q2 2012
|
Johnson &
Johnson
|
Healthcare
|
11
|
$12,318
|
Q4 2016
|
Allergan plc
(AGN)
|
Healthcare
|
12
|
$12,183
|
Q3 2012
|
Johnson &
Johnson
|
Healthcare
|
13
|
$10,851
|
Q4 2016
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
14
|
$10,723
|
Q3 2007
|
Home Depot
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
15
|
$10,697
|
Q1 2018
|
Amgen
|
Healthcare
|
16
|
-$10,346
|
Q3
2018
|
Oracle
|
Information
Technology
|
17
|
$10,166
|
Q2 2016
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
18
|
$10,095
|
Q4 2017
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
19
|
$10,000
|
Q2 2015
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
20
|
$275,395
|
|
TOP
20
|
|
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500 Q3
2018 Buyback Report
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTOR
|
DIVIDEND
|
BUYBACK
|
COMBINED
|
|
|
YIELD
|
YIELD
|
YIELD
|
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
1.48%
|
3.20%
|
4.68%
|
|
Consumer
Staples
|
3.45%
|
2.15%
|
5.60%
|
|
Energy
|
3.42%
|
2.13%
|
5.54%
|
|
Financials
|
2.38%
|
4.71%
|
7.09%
|
|
HealthCare
|
1.73%
|
2.69%
|
4.42%
|
|
Industrials
|
2.16%
|
3.26%
|
5.43%
|
|
Information
Technology
|
1.79%
|
5.43%
|
7.23%
|
|
Materials
|
2.40%
|
1.98%
|
4.39%
|
|
Real
Estate
|
3.46%
|
0.54%
|
3.99%
|
|
Telecommunication
Services
|
1.88%
|
2.26%
|
4.15%
|
|
Utilities
|
3.33%
|
0.10%
|
3.43%
|
|
S&P
500
|
2.21%
|
3.34%
|
5.56%
|
|
Uses
full values (unadjusted for float)
|
|
|
|
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months
ending Q3'18
|
Share Count
Reduction (SCR)
|
SCR
|
SCR
|
(Y/Y diluted
shares used for EPS)
|
>=4%
|
<=-4%
|
Q3
2018
|
6.43%
|
17.67%
|
Q2
2018
|
6.21%
|
15.43%
|
Q1
2018
|
7.01%
|
13.63%
|
Q4
2017
|
6.83%
|
15.06%
|
Q3
2017
|
8.62%
|
14.23%
|
Q2
2017
|
10.00%
|
14.00%
|
Q1
2017
|
12.00%
|
14.80%
|
Q4
2016
|
10.48%
|
19.35%
|
Q3
2016
|
9.94%
|
23.73%
|
Q2
2016
|
10.48%
|
26.61%
|
Q1
2016
|
10.06%
|
28.17%
|
Q4
2015
|
9.48%
|
25.81%
|
Q3
2015
|
9.64%
|
22.69%
|
Q2
2015
|
9.04%
|
21.08%
|
Q1
2015
|
7.62%
|
21.04%
|
Q4
2014
|
6.04%
|
21.33%
|
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