- S&P 500 Q4 2023 buybacks were $219.1 billion, up 18.0% from Q3 2023's $185.6 billion and up 3.7% from Q4 2022's $211.2 billion
- The 2023 expenditure of $795.2 billion was down 13.8% from the 2022 expenditure of $922.7
- Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples significantly increased their spending for the quarter, 52.7% and 80.3% respectively, as their 2023 expenditures declined, 11.4% and 34.3%; Information Technology increased 15.9% for the quarter and was down 24.5% for the year, as Energy ticked down 1.1% for the quarter and increased 9.5% for the year
- The 2023 net buyback 1% tax reduced Q4 2023 operating earnings by 0.44% (0.40% for 2023) and As Reported GAAP by 0.50% (0.45%)
NEW YORK, March 18, 2024: S&P Dow Jones Indices (“S&P DJI”) today announced the preliminary S&P 500® stock buybacks or share repurchases data for Q4 2023 and year-end 2023.
Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500 .
Key Takeaways:
- Q4 2023 share repurchases were $219.1 billion, up 18.0% from Q3 2023's $185.6 billion expenditure, and up 3.7% from Q4 2022's $211.1 billion.
- For 2023, buybacks were $795.1 billion, down from $922.7 billion for 2022; the 12-month peak was in June 2022 with $1.005 trillion.
- 313 companies reported buybacks of at least $5 million for the quarter, up from 281 in Q3 2023 and down from 318 in Q4 2022; 373 companies did some buybacks for the quarter, up from 362 in Q3 2023 and down from 385 in Q4 2022; 429 companies did some buybacks in 2023, down from 439 in 2022. Buybacks remained top heavy with the top 20 S&P 500 companies accounting for 54.1% of Q4 2023 buybacks, up from Q3 2023's 50.9%, above the historical average of 47.4%, and above the pre-COVID historical average of 44.5%.
- 12.3% of companies reduced share counts used for earnings per share (EPS) by at least 4% year-over-year, down from Q3 2023's 13.8% and down from Q4 2022's 19.4%; for Q4 2023 145 issues increased their shares used for EPS over Q3 2023 and 295 reduced them.
- S&P 500 Q4 2023 dividends increased 6.9% to a record $154.1 billion from the prior Q3 2023's $144.2 billion and were 5.5% greater than the $146.1 billion in Q4 2022. For 2023, dividends set a record $588.2 billion payment, up 4.2% on an aggregate basis from 2022's $564.6 billion.
- Total shareholders return of buybacks and dividends increased to $373.2 billion in Q4 2023, up 13.2% from Q3 2023's $329.8 billion and up 4.5% from Q4 2022's $357.3 billion. Total shareholder returns for 2023 decreased to $1.383 trillion from 2022's $1.487 trillion.
- The 1% tax on net buybacks, which started in 2023, reduced the Q4 2023 S&P 500 operating earnings by 0.44% and As Reported GAAP earnings by 0.50% and for 2023 they reduced earnings 0.40% for operating and 0.45% for As Reported; the proforma for full year 2022 was a 0.51% reduction for operating and a 0.58% reduction for as reported.
