American companies set a record for stock buybacks

American corporations have reached a historic peak: by the end of August, the total volume of stock buybacks exceeded one trillion dollars. And this result was achieved faster than ever before. Just a few years ago, such large-scale repurchases seemed almost unrealistic, but today they have become the new normal. Experts expect that by the end of the year the figure may rise to 1.1 trillion dollars, while the total announced programs may exceed 1.3 trillion.

Who leads

The most active remain the largest global players. They use stock buybacks as a tool to support share prices and as a way to improve performance for investors. In 2025, the leaders were:

• Apple — the largest buyback program, estimated at about one hundred billion dollars.
• Alphabet (Google) — a large-scale plan worth tens of billions, seen as an important signal for shareholders.
• JPMorgan Chase — the largest U.S. bank, actively supporting its stock quotes through buybacks.
• Nvidia — the company recently announced a sixty-billion-dollar program, which sparked heated discussion among analysts.

Judging by the list, buybacks remain the main instrument for the largest corporations, which have enough free funds and can afford such large-scale operations.

Why companies use buybacks

The activity in the buyback market is explained by several factors. First, it is a way to strengthen investor confidence in times of volatility: reducing the number of shares in circulation automatically increases earnings per share. Second, companies demonstrate to the market confidence in their business: if a corporation repurchases its own stock, it means it considers it undervalued. Finally, such a step is often perceived as an alternative to paying dividends — the money still goes back to shareholders, but in a different form.

At the same time, buybacks have another side. Experts note that significant funds directed to stock repurchases could have gone to development — new projects, research, technological innovations. Thus, a strategy profitable in the short term may create risks for the future growth of companies.

Possible consequences

The record volume of buybacks shows the financial strength of the largest American corporations. For investors it is a signal of stability, but one should not forget about long-term risks. If the trend continues, the market may face a situation where companies spend billions to maintain stock prices instead of creating new products and technologies. Already now regulators are increasingly paying attention to this imbalance, and in the future the issue of buyback regulation may become one of the main points on the agenda.

On the one hand, this increases the attractiveness of stocks for investors and strengthens the market. On the other, it raises questions about whether corporations are sacrificing long-term development for short-term gains. How this trend will develop will become clear next year, but one thing is obvious: buybacks have firmly become part of the arsenal of the largest U.S. companies