- S&P 500 Q1 2025 buybacks were $293.5 billion, setting a quarterly record, previously held by Q1 2022's $281.0 billion expenditure (when prices were 23.9% lower), and were up 20.6% from Q4 2024's $243.2 billion and up 23.9% from Q1 2024's $236.8 billion
- The 12-month March 2025 expenditure was $999.2 billion and was up 22.4% from the 12-month March 2024 expenditure of $816.5 billion
- Communication Services increased spending by 56.5% and Information Technology increased 25.8%, as Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary reduced their spending by 25.6% and 16.8%, respectively
- The net buyback 1% tax reduced Q1 2025 operating earnings by 0.50% and As Reported GAAP by 0.53%, as the 12-month cost was 0.43% and 0.47%, respectively
NEW YORK, June 25, 2025: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today announced the preliminary S&P 500® stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q1 2025.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks is available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.
Key Highlights:
- Q1 2025 share repurchases set a quarterly record at $293.5 billion, up 20.6% from Q4 2024's $243.2 billion expenditure, and up 23.9% from Q1 2024's $236.8 billion.
- For the 12-month March 2025 period buybacks were $999.2 billion, up from $816.5 billion for the prior 12-month period; the 12-month peak was in June 2022 with $1.005 trillion.
- 384 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, up from 342 in Q4 2024 and up from 352 in Q1 2024; 402 companies did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 399 in Q4 2024 and up from 380 in Q1 2024; 436 companies did some buybacks in the 12-month March 2025 period, up from 419 in the prior period.
- Buybacks remained top heavy as concentration decreased, with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for 48.4% of Q1 2025 buybacks, down from Q4 2024's49.0%, and above the historical average of 47.7% and above the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.
- 13.7% of companies reduced share counts used for earnings per share (EPS) by at least 4% year-over-year, up from Q4 2024's 12.0% and up from Q1 2024's 13.3%; for Q1 2025 125 issues increased their shares used for EPS over Q4 2024 and 326 reduced them.
- S&P 500 Q1 2025 dividends decreased 2.1%, to $164.1 billion from the record Q4 2024's $167.6 billion and were 8.4% greater than the $151.6 billion in Q1 2024.
- For the 12-month March 2025 period, dividends set a record $642.1 billion payment, up 8.3% on an aggregate basis from prior 12-month's $593.1 billion.
- Total shareholders return of buybacks and dividends increased to a record $457.6 billion in Q1 2025, up 11.4% from Q4 2024's $410.8 billion and up 17.8% from Q1 2024's $388.4 billion.
- Total shareholder returns for the 12-month March 2025 period increased 16.4% to a record $1.641 trillion from the 12-month March 2024's $1.410 trillion.
- The 1% tax on net buybacks, which started in 2023, reduced the Q1 2025 S&P 500 operating earnings by 0.50%, up from Q4 2024's 0.37%, as it reduced As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.53%, up from the prior 0.39%. For the 12-months ending in March 2025, the 1% tax on net buybacks reduced earnings by 0.43% for operating and 0.47% for As Reported.
