- S&P 500 Q3 2025 buybacks were $249.0 billion, as the expenditure increased 6.2% from Q2’s $234.6 billion and down 15.1% from the record Q1 2025 $293.5 billion, and was up 9.9% from Q3 2024’s $226.6 billion
- The 12-month September 2025 expenditure was a record $1.020 trillion and was up 11.1% from the 12-month September 2024 expenditure of $918.4 billion
- Health Care and Financials significantly increased their spending, up 32.2% and 26.3% respectively over Q2 2025, as Materials and Real Estate reduced spending by 21.0% and 40.3%, respectively
- The net buyback 1% tax reduced Q3 2025 operating earnings, which are set to post a quarterly earnings record by 0.36% and As Reported GAAP by 0.41%, as the 12-month cost was 0.40% and 0.44%, respectively
NEW YORK, December 18, 2025: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today announced the preliminary S&P 500® stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q3 2025
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks is available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.
Key Highlights:
- Q3 2025 share repurchases were $249.0 billion, up 6.2% from Q2 2025’s $234.6 billion and up 9.9% from Q3 2024’s $226.6 billion.
- For the 12-month September 2025 period buybacks surpassed $1 trillion for the second time, the first was for the 12-months ending in June 2022 with $1.005 trillion, as this period saw a record $1.020 trillion, up from $918.4 billion from the prior 12-month period.
- 333 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, down from 338 in Q2 2025 and up from 332 in Q3 2024; 387 companies did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 386 in Q2 2025 and up from 381 in Q3 2024; 436 companies did some buybacks in the 12-month September 2025 period, up from 425 in the prior period.
- Buybacks remained top heavy as concentration decreased, with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for 49.5% of Q3 2025 buybacks, down from Q2 2025’s 51.3%, and above the historical average of 47.8% and above the pre-COVID (Q4 2019) historical average of 44.5%.
- 17.1% of companies reduced share counts used for earnings per share (EPS) by at least 4% year-over-year, down from Q2 2025’s 17.3% and up from Q3 2024's 13.6%; for Q3 2025 156 issues increased their shares used for EPS compared to Q2 2025 and 279 reduced them, as 160 increased them compared to Q3 2024 and 312 reduced them.
- S&P 500 Q3 2025 dividends increased 1.8%, to $168.1 billion from Q2 2025’s $165.2 billion and were 7.0% greater than the $157.0 billion in Q3 2024.
- For the 12-month September 2025 period, dividends set a record $664.9 billion payment, up 7.9% on an aggregate basis from the prior 12-month’s $616.2 billion.
- Total shareholders return of buybacks and dividends increased to $417.1 billion in Q3 2025, up 4.3% from Q2 2025’s $399.7 billion and up 8.7% from Q3 2024’s $383.6 billion.
- Total shareholder returns for the 12-month September 2025 period increased 9.8% to a record $1.685 trillion from the 12-month September 2024’s $1.535 trillion.
- The 1% tax on net buybacks, which started in 2023, reduced the Q3 2025 S&P 500 operating earnings by 0.36%, down from Q2 2025’s 0.39%, as it reduced As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.41%, down from the prior 0.42%. For the 12-months ending in September 2025, the 1% tax on net buybacks reduced earnings by 0.40% for operating and 0.44% for As Reported.
