NEW YORK, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones
Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today that preliminary Q4
2018 S&P 500® stock buybacks, or
share repurchases, set a fourth consecutive record of
$223.0 billion. This displaces
the previous record of $203.8
billion, set during Q3 2018 and is a 62.8% increase from the
$137.0 billion reported for Q4
2017.
For the year 2018, buybacks set an annual (and 12-month) record
of $806.4 billion, up 55.3% from the
prior year's $519.4 billion, and up
36.9% from the prior annual record set in 2007, of $589.1 billion.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at
www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.
Key Takeaways:
- The record buybacks came as Q4 2018 stock prices declined an
average 5.3%, which increased the number of shares that companies
could repurchase for the same amount of capital.
- As a result, the percentage of companies that substantially
reduced share counts of at least 4% year-over-year rose to 18.8%
(90 total issues), up from the prior quarter's 17.7% (88 total
issues) and Q4 2017's 15.1% (70 total issues), giving EPS a
stronger tailwind.
- S&P 500 Q4 2018 dividends totaled $119.8 billion, a new record, up 3.5% from the
$115.7 billion in Q3 2018.
- Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends for the
quarter set a record of $342.8
billion, up 39.1% from the $246.4
billion reported for Q4 2017.
- Total shareholder return for 2018 set a record at $1.263 trillion, surpassing Q3's 12-month record
of $1.166 trillion, and up 34.5% from
$931.9 billion from 2017.
"Buybacks were again favored over dividends in both the rate of
growth and aggregate dollars spent," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at
S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Companies continued to spend more
of their tax savings on these share repurchases as they boosted
earnings through significantly reduced share counts. Adding to the
share reduction, and therefore the EPS impact, was Q4's stock price
decline, which permitted companies to buy even more shares for
their dollars and reduce share count more efficiently."
Silverblatt added "buybacks broadened out in Q4, as the top 20
issues accounted for 44.4% of all S&P 500 buybacks, near the
recent historical average of 43.7%, down from Q3's 54.3%, Q2's
49.7% and Q1's 49.5%. For the year, however, the top 20 accounted
for 42.2% of the buybacks, substantially up from 2017's 32.3%."
Q4 2018 GICS® Sector Analysis:
Information Technology buybacks declined 25.5% to
$61.3 billion compared to
$82.3 billion for Q3 2018, as 2018
expenditures were up 134.4% to $278.5
billion from $118.8 billion in
2017. The sector represents 27.5% of the index's buybacks for the
quarter and 34.5% for all of 2018.
Health Care expenditures increased 116.4% to $31.3 billion compared to $14.5 billion for Q3 2018, as 2018 amounted to
$108.7 billion, up 67.3% from the
2017 $65.0 billion expenditure.
Consumer sectors split (again), as Consumer Discretionary
buybacks increased their expenditure 30.3% to $25.7 billion, up from $19.7 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $86.7 billion, up 3.7% from $83.6 billion. Consumer Staples decreased
4.4% to $9.6 billion, down from
$10.0 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was
down 34.2% to $33.4 billion from
$50.8 billion.
Issues:
The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q4 2018
are:
- Apple (AAPL) led in buybacks, spending $10.1 billion in Q4 2018, down from $19.4 billion spent for Q3 2018. Its Q4 2018
expenditure ranked 19th highest historically; for the
year, Apple spent $74.2 billion on
buybacks, up from 2017's $34.4
billion; over the five-year period the company spent
$229.0 billion, and $260.4 billion over the 10-year period.
- Oracle (ORCL): $10.0
billion for Q4 2018, down from $10.3
billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $29.3
billion, up $4.0 billion in
2017.
- Wells Fargo (WFC):
$7.3 billion for Q4 2018, slightly
down from the $7.4 billion spent in
Q3 2018; 2018 was $21.0 billion, up
from $10.3 billion in 2017.
- Microsoft (MSFT): $6.4
billion for Q4 2018, up from $3.7
billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $16.3
billion, up from $8.4 billion
in 2017.
- Merck (MRK): $5.9
billion for Q4 2018, up from $1.0
billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $9.1
billion, up from $4.0 billion
in 2017.
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
|
2018
Prelim.
|
$21,033.30
|
$1,281.83
|
$1,116.83
|
$456.31
|
$806.41
|
2.17%
|
3.83%
|
6.00%
|
2017
|
$22,821.24
|
$1,066.00
|
$940.86
|
$419.77
|
$519.40
|
1.84%
|
2.28%
|
4.12%
|
2016
|
$19,267.93
|
$919.85
|
$818.55
|
$397.21
|
$536.38
|
2.06%
|
2.78%
|
4.85%
|
2015
|
$17,899.56
|
$885.38
|
$762.74
|
$382.32
|
$572.16
|
2.14%
|
3.20%
|
5.33%
|
2014
|
$18,245.16
|
$1,004.22
|
$909.09
|
$350.43
|
$553.28
|
1.92%
|
3.03%
|
4.95%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
5YR Total (mkt
avg)
|
$19,853.44
|
$5,157.28
|
$4,548.07
|
$2,006.05
|
$2,987.62
|
10.10%
|
15.05%
|
25.15%
|
10YR Total (mkt
avg)
|
$16,124.68
|
$9,119.73
|
$8,158.26
|
$3,240.14
|
$4,703.66
|
20.09%
|
29.17%
|
49.26%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
12/31/2018
Prelim.
|
$21,033
|
$293.99
|
$240.31
|
$119.81
|
$222.98
|
2.17%
|
3.83%
|
6.00%
|
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%
|
9/29/2017
|
$21,579
|
$268.35
|
$243.68
|
$105.45
|
$129.17
|
1.92%
|
2.40%
|
4.32%
|
6/30/2017
|
$20,762
|
$261.39
|
$231.40
|
$104.01
|
$120.11
|
1.96%
|
2.41%
|
4.37%
|
3/31/2017
|
$20,276
|
$247.32
|
$235.65
|
$100.86
|
$133.15
|
1.98%
|
2.51%
|
4.49%
|
12/31/2016
|
$19,268
|
$240.11
|
$207.93
|
$103.82
|
$135.29
|
2.06%
|
2.78%
|
4.85%
|
9/30/2016
|
$18,742
|
$247.98
|
$219.46
|
$98.43
|
$112.20
|
2.10%
|
2.92%
|
5.01%
|
6/30/2016
|
$18,193
|
$222.77
|
$201.79
|
$98.30
|
$127.50
|
2.14%
|
3.22%
|
5.36%
|
3/31/2016
|
$17,958
|
$208.99
|
$189.37
|
$96.67
|
$161.39
|
2.15%
|
3.28%
|
5.43%
|
12/31/2015
|
$17,900
|
$201.95
|
$163.76
|
$99.39
|
$145.88
|
2.14%
|
3.20%
|
5.33%
|
9/30/2015
|
$16,917
|
$224.14
|
$204.58
|
$95.07
|
$150.58
|
2.22%
|
3.30%
|
5.52%
|
6/30/2015
|
$18,219
|
$230.84
|
$201.35
|
$94.45
|
$131.56
|
2.03%
|
3.04%
|
5.07%
|
3/31/2015
|
$18,303
|
$228.45
|
$193.05
|
$93.41
|
$144.13
|
1.98%
|
2.94%
|
4.92%
|
12/30/2014
|
$18,245
|
$237.14
|
$202.31
|
$92.80
|
$132.63
|
1.92%
|
3.03%
|
4.95%
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500 SECTOR
BUYBACKS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTOR $
MILLIONS
|
Q4,'18
|
Q3,'18
|
Q4,'17
|
2018
|
2017
|
5-YEARS
|
10-YEARS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$25,652
|
$19,688
|
$20,775
|
$86,674
|
$83,570
|
$433,558
|
$699,466
|
Consumer
Staples
|
$9,588
|
$10,025
|
$10,490
|
$33,449
|
$50,832
|
$214,958
|
$431,037
|
Energy
|
$8,698
|
$7,330
|
$5,203
|
$30,427
|
$12,736
|
$105,104
|
$268,424
|
Financials
|
$45,641
|
$40,643
|
$33,903
|
$150,054
|
$124,467
|
$548,839
|
$735,105
|
Healthcare
|
$31,336
|
$14,482
|
$15,814
|
$108,692
|
$64,982
|
$391,651
|
$651,162
|
Industrials
|
$23,026
|
$15,159
|
$11,561
|
$78,239
|
$53,560
|
$354,796
|
$511,604
|
Information
Technology
|
$61,298
|
$82,293
|
$35,817
|
$278,526
|
$118,848
|
$821,862
|
$1,221,998
|
Materials
|
$5,857
|
$3,014
|
$2,067
|
$14,391
|
$5,857
|
$72,344
|
$101,473
|
Real
Estate
|
$1,480
|
$520
|
$1,314
|
$3,768
|
$3,844
|
$8,371
|
$8,371
|
Communication
Services
|
$9,556
|
$10,092
|
$9
|
$20,237
|
$485
|
$29,740
|
$58,762
|
Utilities
|
$850
|
$509
|
$17
|
$1,952
|
$216
|
$6,400
|
$16,259
|
TOTAL
|
$222,980
|
$203,756
|
$136,969
|
$806,408
|
$519,397
|
$2,987,621
|
$4,703,661
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500 20
LARGEST Q4 2018 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Company
|
Ticker
|
Sector
|
Q4
2018
|
2018
|
2017
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
Indicated
|
|
|
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Buybacks
|
Dividend
|
|
|
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
$
Million
|
Apple
|
AAPL
|
Information
Technology
|
$10,114
|
$74,246
|
$34,427
|
$228,961
|
$260,449
|
$13,769
|
Oracle
|
ORCL
|
Information
Technology
|
$9,995
|
$29,306
|
$3,975
|
$58,680
|
$88,482
|
$3,445
|
Wells
Fargo
|
WFC
|
Financials
|
$7,308
|
$20,964
|
$10,301
|
$57,986
|
$71,610
|
$8,189
|
Microsoft
|
MSFT
|
Information
Technology
|
$6,413
|
$16,300
|
$8,405
|
$66,093
|
$118,506
|
$14,117
|
Merck
|
MRK
|
Health
Care
|
$5,933
|
$9,091
|
$4,014
|
$28,428
|
$43,774
|
$5,679
|
JPMorgan
|
JPM
|
Financials
|
$5,928
|
$19,983
|
$15,410
|
$54,851
|
$73,155
|
$10,478
|
Bank of
America
|
BAC
|
Financials
|
$5,231
|
$20,094
|
$12,814
|
$42,069
|
$45,307
|
$5,795
|
Cisco
Systems
|
CSCO
|
Information
Technology
|
$5,182
|
$22,936
|
$7,771
|
$46,276
|
$81,820
|
$6,163
|
Starbucks
|
SBUX
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$5,170
|
$10,709
|
$3,306
|
$18,828
|
$21,114
|
$1,791
|
Pfizer
|
PFE
|
Health
Care
|
$5,030
|
$12,198
|
$5,000
|
$32,035
|
$64,476
|
$7,995
|
Home Depot
|
HD
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
$4,445
|
$9,963
|
$8,000
|
$38,843
|
$57,619
|
$6,145
|
Citigroup
|
C
|
Financials
|
$4,206
|
$14,533
|
$14,946
|
$46,705
|
$50,090
|
$4,233
|
Facebook
|
FB
|
Communication
Services
|
$4,045
|
$16,087
|
$5,222
|
$21,388
|
$25,140
|
$0
|
Johnson &
Johnson
|
JNJ
|
Health
Care
|
$3,808
|
$5,868
|
$6,358
|
$33,697
|
$62,014
|
$9,587
|
Broadcom
|
AVGO
|
Information
Technology
|
$3,513
|
$10,771
|
$0
|
$10,771
|
$11,090
|
$4,199
|
Walmart
|
WMT
|
Consumer
Staples
|
$3,249
|
$7,410
|
$8,296
|
$29,131
|
$68,413
|
$6,159
|
Alphabet
|
GOOG/L
|
Communication
Services
|
$2,650
|
$9,075
|
$4,846
|
$19,394
|
$20,312
|
$0
|
Visa
|
V
|
Information
Technology
|
$2,494
|
$7,914
|
$6,880
|
$30,050
|
$56,589
|
$1,750
|
Amgen
|
AMGN
|
Health
Care
|
$2,250
|
$17,920
|
$3,351
|
$26,902
|
$49,944
|
$3,609
|
Internat'l Bus
Machines
|
IBM
|
Information
Technology
|
$2,073
|
$4,614
|
$4,533
|
$28,206
|
$98,936
|
$5,588
|
Top
20
|
|
|
$99,037
|
$339,982
|
$167,855
|
$919,294
|
$1,368,840
|
$118,690
|
S&P
500
|
|
|
$222,980
|
$806,408
|
$519,397
|
$2,987,621
|
$4,703,661
|
$490,570
|
Top 20 % of
S&P 500
|
|
|
44.42%
|
42.16%
|
32.32%
|
30.77%
|
29.10%
|
24.19%
|
Gross
values are not adjusted for float
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
S&P 500 20
Largest Quarterly Buybacks, $ Millions, as of Q4 2018 with 1
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
|
Internat'l Bus
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
|
$10,114
|
Q4
2018
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
19
|
$10,095
|
Q4 2017
|
Apple
|
Information
Technology
|
20
|
S&P Dow Jones
Indices
|
|
|
|
|
S&P 500 Q4
2018 Buyback Report
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SECTOR
|
DIVIDEND
|
BUYBACK
|
COMBINED
|
|
|
YIELD
|
YIELD
|
YIELD
|
|
Consumer
Discretionary
|
1.32%
|
3.14%
|
4.46%
|
|
Consumer
Staples
|
2.96%
|
1.85%
|
4.80%
|
|
Energy
|
3.32%
|
2.30%
|
5.63%
|
|
Financials
|
2.32%
|
4.94%
|
7.26%
|
|
HealthCare
|
1.72%
|
3.07%
|
4.79%
|
|
Industrials
|
1.98%
|
3.41%
|
5.38%
|
|
Information
Technology
|
1.55%
|
5.27%
|
6.83%
|
|
Materials
|
2.22%
|
2.40%
|
4.63%
|
|
Real
Estate
|
3.31%
|
0.53%
|
3.84%
|
|
Communications
Services
|
1.73%
|
2.03%
|
3.75%
|
|
Utilities
|
3.40%
|
0.20%
|
3.61%
|
|
S&P
500
|
2.05%
|
3.40%
|
5.45%
|
|
Uses
full values (unadjusted for float)
|
|
|
|
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months
ending Q4'18
|
Share Count
Reduction (SCR)
|
SCR
|
SCR
|
(Y/Y diluted
shares used for EPS)
|
>=4%
|
<=-4%
|
Q4
2018
|
8.48%
|
18.79%
|
Q3
2018
|
6.43%
|
17.67%
|
Q2
2018
|
6.20%
|
15.60%
|
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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SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices