U.S. Share Buybacks 'Record-Breaking'…Surpasses $1 Trillion This Year

Led by Apple, Alphabet, JPMorgan, etc.

U.S. companies are accelerating share buybacks. The size of share buybacks announced this year has surpassed $1 trillion (about 1,390 trillion won). This is the fastest achievement since related statistics began being compiled in 1982.

Bloomberg News reported on the 27th (local time), citing data from asset manager Vernier Associates, that the announced size of U.S. companies' share buybacks this year exceeded $1 trillion as of the 20th. The previous shortest record was in October last year; this year reached that mark roughly two months earlier.

Large technology and financial firms are leading the share buybacks. Semiconductor company NVIDIA announced plans to buy an additional $60 billion worth of its own shares after its quarterly results. Apple announced a $100 billion share buyback program in May. Alphabet ($70 billion), JPMorgan ($50 billion), Goldman Sachs ($40 billion), and Citigroup ($20 billion) have also joined the 'wave of share buybacks.' Vernier Associates projects that the total announced size of share buybacks this year could reach $1.2 trillion.

Share buybacks boost stock prices and increase earnings per share (EPS), so they are interpreted as an attractive signal to investors. Jeffrey Yale Rubin, chairman of Vernier Associates, explained, "Share buybacks show a company's willingness to reward shareholders based on solid performance and sufficient financial strength."

Bloomberg assessed that share buybacks have been a key supporting factor in the S&P 500's recent series of record highs.

Reporter Han Kyung-je hankyung@hankyung.com