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Four Big Tech companies have made more than $1 trillion in stock buybacks over 10 years, according to S&P Global data.
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Apple has invested more than $600 billion in its own shares, more than Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta combined.
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The quartet’s spending exceeds the market value of Tesla, Meta and Berkshire Hathaway.
Four Big Tech companies have pumped $1 trillion into stock buybacks over the past decade. It shows S&P Global data.
Apple In the 10 years to March 31, it spent $621 billion on its own stock. Google-parent Alphabet It ranks second with $193 billion in stock buybacks over the same period. Microsoft And Meta forums It raised $180 billion and $130 billion, respectively, S&P Global data shows.
The tech quartet has poured $1.1 trillion into acquisitions since the start of 2013. Their 10-year cost also rivals Nvidia’s current $1.2 trillion market capitalization.
Other companies are not far behind. Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan each spent between $110 billion and $120 billion over the 10-year period. Home Depot, Berkshire, and Johnson & Johnson rounded out the top 10, spending $70 billion, $77 billion, and $113 billion, respectively.
The 20 biggest spenders have spent about $2 trillion on acquisitions over the past decade — a bigger chunk than the $6.6 trillion invested by S&P 500 companies as a whole over the same period.
A buyback reduces the company’s total number of shares, increasing shareholder ownership. Executives use them to signal that they believe their stock is undervalued and a good investment.
Historically, they are more common among mature companies that focus on returning cash to shareholders rather than growing their businesses. Technology companies have the best use for their money, such as expansion, investment in new facilities and equipment, research and development of new products, or acquisitions.
Warren Buffett is famous for a A big fan of shopping, when a company has plenty of cash to cover its operating and liquidity needs and its stock is trading at a material discount to its intrinsic value. It’s good for shareholders and stock sellers, safer than buybacks, more efficient than dividends, and a way for executives to show they care about shareholder returns, he says.
Indeed, Buffett’s Berkshire has seen its stake in Apple. An increase of about 6% Not having to spend a dime in recent years, thanks to the iPhone maker’s acquisitions.
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