Buybacks Reach Record Highs as Q2 Earnings Season Approaches

by Christine Short of Wall Street Horizon, 7/11/25

Takeaways

  • Q1 2025 buybacks reached a record $293B, with analysts expecting 2025 total buybacks to hit $1T.

  • The top 20 S&P 500® companies continue to dominate buyback activity, although more S&P 500 companies are now repurchasing stock.

  • Globally, the number of buyback announcements remains historically low despite record dollar levels, with 164 announcements in Q2.

As we head into the second half of the year, expect record stock buyback activity for companies in the S&P 500. While we wait for official numbers to come out for Q2 which just closed last Monday, June 30, the year was off to a stellar start when Q1 buybacks hit a record of $293B, according to S&P Global. The previous record was set in Q1 2022 when buybacks totaled $281B.1 Analysts have said they expect 2025 to hit $1T in total buybacks.2

Buybacks remained top heavy, with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for 48.4% of Q1 2025 buybacks, a slight decrease from 49% in Q4 2024. While the concentration amongst top stock repurchases still exists, more companies within the S&P 500 have been repurchasing stock as of late, and the number purchasing over 1% of their public stock has increased.3 This story changes slightly when you look globally.

Total Number of Global Companies Announcing Buybacks is Lower

Despite the dollar level of buybacks hitting records, Wall Street Horizon data shows that the actual number of announcements has been relatively low, historically speaking. The second quarter closed out with 164 announcements, that comes after Q1 recorded 168 buyback announcements. The quarterly average over the last five years has been 204 announcements. You can see in the chart below that those numbers are steadily climbing after bottom-ing out in 2023.

global corporate buyback