Global buybacks towards a new record: +8.4% in 2025 up to 1.46 trillion dollars
25 MAR, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
In 2025, global share buybacks reached a new historical high, confirming the increasingly central role of buybacks in the capital allocation strategies of large listed companies.
According to the report “Buyback Watch” from the Capital Group Global Equity Study 2026, the total value of buybacks grew by 8.4% on an annual basis, reaching $1.46 trillion and marking a further step forward compared to the already high levels of previous years. The growth, equal to 7.7% at constant exchange rates, highlights a structurally solid dynamic and superior to that of dividends, which in the same period increased by 6.0%.
In this context, buybacks are confirmed not only as an increasingly widespread tool, but also as a key lever through which global companies return value to shareholders, reflecting deep differences in financial cultures, macroeconomic conditions and investment priorities between geographical areas and sectors.
A sustained growth that surpasses dividends
In 2025, global buybacks increased by 8.4%, reaching $1.46 trillion, with an increase of 113 billion compared to the previous year. Net of the exchange rate effect, growth still stands at a robust 7.7%, surpassing the pace of dividends, which grew by 6.0% in the same period.
Globally, buybacks now represent 75% of the value of distributed dividends, but with strong divergences between geographical areas and sectors.
Another key data is the increasing spread of this practice: 52% of the companies analyzed carried out buybacks in 2025, compared to 36% in 2015. In cumulative terms, buybacks have grown by 123% in the last decade, more than dividends (+98%).
A phenomenon concentrated in large corporates
Despite global diffusion, buybacks remain highly concentrated. Only 20 companies represent about a third (32%) of the total worldwide, with a strong US predominance.
Among these, Apple confirms itself as the main global player with 92 billion dollars in buybacks in 2025, surpassing the total of entire geographical areas alone.
This concentration reflects both the size of the big tech and large cap USA and a corporate culture more oriented towards buybacks compared to other regions.
Dominance of the United States and regional divergences
The United States continues to lead the global buyback market, with 1.04 trillion dollars in 2025, equivalent to 71% of the global total.
The US market is also the only one where buybacks systematically exceed dividends, reaching up to 1.5 times higher.
In Europe, buybacks have reached a new record of 159 billion dollars (+9.7%), but remain much lower compared to the USA. However, they are gaining weight: in 2025 they represent 44% of regional dividends, compared to about 20% in 2016.
Japan emerges as one of the most dynamic markets, with buybacks growing by 15.3% to 77.5 billion dollars, a sign of a progressive spread of the buyback culture.
On the contrary, in emerging markets buybacks remain marginal: only one company out of six has an active program and the total (13.9 billion) is less than a twelfth of the dividends distributed.
The driving sectors: finance and technology at the top
From a sectoral point of view, 2025 shows strong divergences:
- Financials: dominant sector with 386 billion dollars (+23.1%), driven mainly by banks.
- Technology: significant growth (+18.5%), supported by software and semiconductors.
- Media: decrease of 10%, penalized by investments in artificial intelligence that have absorbed liquidity.
- Energy: contraction of 12.5% due to the drop in energy prices.
These dynamics highlight how buybacks are highly discretionary and linked to the economic cycle and investment priorities.
Buyback vs dividends: two models compared
The report emphasizes that buybacks and dividends are not equivalent tools, but complementary.
Buybacks offer:
- greater flexibility
- possibility to optimize the capital structure
- tax efficiency (in many cases)
Dividends, on the other hand, guarantee:
- immediate and certain cash flows
- discipline in capital management
- equity among shareholders
In practice, the most efficient companies tend to use both tools in a complementary way, choosing based on market conditions and investment opportunities.
Prospects: more uncertain growth in 2026
Looking ahead, buybacks remain more difficult to predict than dividends, given their discretionary nature.
The increase in investments in artificial intelligence could continue to divert resources from buyback programs, while improved earnings and lower interest rates could support them.
Estimates indicate that buybacks in 2026 could match the levels of 2025, but with the risk of growing less than dividends, expected to increase by 5.8%
