S&P 500 Buybacks Decline 55.4% to $88.7 Billion; Significant Reductions Expected to continue in Q3 2020

-- Q2 2020 share repurchases were $88.7 billion - the lowest since March 2012 and a 55.4% decline from Q1 2020 and 46.4% decline from Q2 2019.

-- 252 issues reported little or no buybacks for the quarter, compared to 105 in Q1 2020 and 133 in Q2 2019.

-- The issues which did do buybacks dominated the expenditures, as the top 20 issues accounted for 87.2% of the Q2 2020 buybacks, up from 46.7% in Q1 2020 and the historical average of 44.5%

-- Reduced Q2 2020 expectations were fulfilled as companies prioritized their expenditures and protected their liquidity. Significantly reduced expectations continue for Q3 2020, especially for financial issues, where big-banks have suspended their buybacks; issues with strong cash-flow are expected to continue buybacks.

News provided by

S&P Dow Jones Indices

Sep 15, 2020, 10:15 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today that preliminary Q2 2020 S&P 500^® stock buybacks, or share repurchases, were $88.7 billion – a 55.4% decrease from Q1 2020's $198.7 billion and down 46.4% from Q2 2019's $165.5 billion.

Historical data on S&P 500 buybacks are available at www.spdji.com/indices/equity/sp-500.

Key Takeaways:

Companies posted a sharp decrease in buyback expenditures as the full effect of the economic impact from COVID-19 was felt. For the quarter, 49% of the S&P 500 companies did buybacks, compared to 79% in Q1 2020.
Q2 2020 buybacks were $88.7 billion, down 55.4% from $198.7 billion in Q1 2020 and down 46.4% from $165.5 billion in Q2 2019.
For the 12-month June 2020 period, companies spent $644.9 billion, down 19.2% from their 12-month June 2019 expenditure of $798.0 billion. The record 12-month high is $823.2 billion in March 2018.
The cumulative rolling four quarters of repurchases continued to impact EPS, but declined, as 18.0% of the issues reduced share counts by at least 4% year-over-year, down from Q1 2019's 19.6% and 24.2% in Q2 2019; for Q3 2020 the rate is expected to decline further.
S&P 500 Q2 2020 dividends declined 6.25% to $119.0 billion, from the Q1 2020 record $127.0 billion, and increasing 0.3% from the Q2 2019 payment of $118.7 billion. For the 12-month period, dividends set a record, at $495.5 billion, (the prior record was Q1 2020, at $495.1 billion), up 5.1% from the corresponding 2019 period's $471.5 billion.
Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends for the quarter came in at $207.5 billion, down 36.3% from the Q1 2020 period expenditure of $325.7 billion and down 26.9%% from the $284.1 billion reported for Q2 2019.
Total shareholder return for the 12-month June 2020 period declined to $1.140 trillion from June 2019's $1.270 trillion.
The top 20 issues dominated the buybacks, accounting for 87.2% of all buybacks, up from Q1 2020's 46.7% and the historical 44.5% average.

"Companies pulled back on buybacks in Q2 2020 as the COVID-19 impact on sales, liquidity, and business lines displaced share repurchases," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Q3 2020 expenditures are expected to be a tick better as those who have strong cash-flow and active business lines continue to buy and some recovering issues venture back-in, even if just to cover employee options and protect EPS."

"Looking beyond Q3, Q4 2020 remains contingent on the economy, which is contingent on the COVID-19 recovery," Silverblatt continued. As businesses reopen and the economy picks up, companies will need to address prior actions as well as initiate new procedures and policies to function in the new environment, including potential reorganization to address employee location needs and shifts in customer base and cycles. These expenditures could limit the discretionary buybacks they're able to do."

Q2 2020 GICS® Sector Analysis:

Information Technology continued to lead in buybacks even as S&P 500 expenditures declined 55.4% from the prior quarter. The sector spent $39.6 billion for the quarter, down 37.7% from the prior quarter's $59.1 billion, and down 33.1% from the Q2 2019 $55.2 billion level. On a percentage basis, the sector increased its representation to 41.6% of all buybacks, up from the prior quarter's 29.8%. For the 12-month June 2020 period, the group spent $197.7 billion, representing 30.7% of the buybacks, down 25.9% from the corresponding 2019 period's $266.8 billion expenditure, which represented 33.4% of the buybacks.

Financial buybacks, which were slightly trailing Information Technology, declined 82.1%, to $8.3 billion from the Q1 2020 $46.6 billion expenditure, and absent Berkshire Hathaway's $ 5.0 billion expenditure was down 92.8%. Their Q2 2020 expenditure represented 9.4% of all buybacks, down from 23.5% in Q1 2019. For the one-year period, the group spent $153.0 billion, representing 23.7% of all buybacks, down 8.4% from their 2019 expenditure of $166.9 billion, which represented 20.9% of the buybacks. For Q3 2020, minimal expenditures are expected, as big-banks have suspended their buybacks for that period.

Communication Services was the only sector to increase, up 37.7% over Q1 2020, thanks to T-Mobile's $17.1 billion expenditure (in connection with the SoftBank Monetization, ranking #13 in index history); absent that, the sector was down 47.9%. For Q2 2020 the sector spent $27.5 billion, up from Q1 2020's 20.0 billion, as it represented 31.1% of the Q2 2020 buybacks.

Of sector Note: Energy declined 98.5% from Q1 2020, Consumer Discretionary fell 91.8%, and Industrials were down 91.2%.

Issues:

The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q2 2020 are:

Apple (AAPL) continued to lead, spending $17.6 billion in Q2 2020, ranking 11^thin S&P 500 history, as the level was down 6.4% from their Q1 2020 $18.8 billion expenditure and down 3.3% from their Q2 2019 $18.2 billion. For the 12-month period, Apple has spent $76.0 billion on buybacks, up from 2019's $71.4 billion. Over the five-year period, they have spent $282.9 billion and $378.1 billion over the ten-year period.
T-Mobile (TMUS): $17.2 billion for Q2 20120, up from $0.1 billion for Q1 2020; for the 12-months ending in June 2020 they spent $17.3 billion versus $0.2 billion.
Alphabet (GOOG/L): $6.9 billion for Q2 20120, down from $8.5 billion for Q1 2020; for the 12-months ending in June 2020 they spent $27.1 billion versus $11.5 billion.
Microsoft (MSFT): $5.8 billion for Q2 2020, down from $7.1 billion in Q1 2020; for the 12-months ending in June 2020 they spent $23.0 billion versus $19.5 billion.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN): $5.5 billion for Q2 2020, up from the $0.5 billion spent in Q1 2020; for the 12-months ending in June 2020 they spent $6.4 billion versus $0.2 billion.

For more information about S&P Dow Jones Indices, please visit www.spdji.com.

S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 Q2 2020 buyback and related data
As of the close of:		9/11/2020



S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500, $ U.S. BILLIONS			(preliminary and estimates in bold)
PERIOD	MARKET	OPERATING	AS REPORTED					DIVIDEND &
	VALUE	EARNINGS	EARNINGS	DIVIDENDS	BUYBACKS	DIVIDEND	BUYBACK	BUYBACK
	$ BILLIONS	$ BILLIONS	$ BILLIONS	$ BILLIONS	$ BILLIONS	YIELD	YIELD	YIELD
12 Mo Jun,'20	$25,637	$1,037.70	$821.66	$495.49	$644.85	1.93%	2.52%	4.45%
12 Mo Jun,19	$24,423	$1,292.68	$1,131.42	$471.54	$798.01	1.93%	3.27%	5.20%
2019	$26,760	$1,304.76	$1,158.22	$485.48	$728.74	1.81%	2.72%	4.54%
2018	$21,027	$1,281.66	$1,119.43	$456.31	$806.41	2.17%	3.84%	6.01%
2017	$22,821	$1,066.00	$940.86	$419.77	$519.40	1.84%	2.28%	4.12%
2016	$19,268	$919.85	$818.55	$397.21	$536.38	2.06%	2.78%	4.85%

6/30/2020 Prelim.	$25,637	$221.12	$146.78	$119.04	$88.66	1.93%	2.52%	4.45%
3/31/2020	$21,424	$161.64	$98.48	$126.98	$198.72	2.31%	3.37%	5.68%
12/31/2019	$26,760	$324.52	$294.29	$126.35	$181.58	1.81%	2.72%	4.54%
9/30/2019	$24,707	$330.42	$282.12	$123.12	$175.89	1.94%	3.12%	5.06%
6/28/2019	$24,423	$333.26	$290.00	$118.68	$165.46	1.93%	3.27%	5.20%
3/29/2019	$23,619	$316.56	$291.82	$117.33	$205.81	1.97%	3.49%	5.45%
12/31/2018	$21,027	$293.82	$242.91	$119.81	$222.98	2.17%	3.84%	6.01%
9/30/2018	$24,579	$349.04	$306.70	$115.72	$203.76	1.81%	2.93%	4.75%
6/30/2018	$23,036	$327.53	$288.55	$111.60	$190.62	1.89%	2.80%	4.69%
3/29/2018	$22,496	$311.26	$281.28	$109.18	$189.05	1.90%	2.56%	4.46%
12/29/2017	$22,821	$288.93	$230.12	$109.46	$136.97	1.84%	2.28%	4.12%
9/29/2017	$21,579	$268.35	$243.68	$105.45	$129.17	1.92%	2.40%	4.32%
6/30/2017	$20,762	$261.39	$231.40	$104.01	$120.11	1.96%	2.41%	4.37%
3/31/2017	$20,276	$247.32	$235.65	$100.86	$133.15	1.98%	2.51%	4.49%
12/31/2016	$19,268	$240.11	$207.93	$103.82	$135.29	2.06%	2.78%	4.85%
9/30/2016	$18,742	$247.98	$219.46	$98.43	$112.20	2.10%	2.92%	5.01%
6/30/2016	$18,193	$222.77	$201.79	$98.30	$127.50	2.14%	3.22%	5.36%

S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS
SECTOR $ MILLIONS	Q2,'20	Q4,'19	Q2,'19	12MoJun,'20	12MoJun,'19	5-YEARS	10-YEARS	Q4,'18	Q2,'09
								(high)	( low)
Consumer Discretionary	$1,317	$16,087	$15,764	$52,395	$78,825	$395,893	$752,484	$25,652	$2,350
Consumer Staples	$1,514	$5,278	$7,114	$23,730	$36,512	$194,628	$421,945	$9,588	$4,013
Energy	$60	$3,861	$4,552	$13,826	$24,874	$77,762	$264,511	$8,698	$5,343
Financials	$8,346	$46,637	$37,819	$153,005	$166,948	$663,302	$952,002	$45,641	$1,170
Healthcare	$10,706	$20,807	$17,066	$67,562	$93,633	$407,930	$719,061	$31,336	$4,699
Industrials	$1,816	$20,736	$16,967	$46,951	$74,578	$334,127	$577,257	$23,026	$1,681
Information Technology	$36,900	$59,138	$55,187	$197,712	$266,764	$916,393	$1,468,868	$61,298	$4,757
Materials	$184	$4,551	$2,420	$13,252	$16,062	$57,817	$119,311	$5,857	$159
Real Estate	$204	$1,320	$555	$2,791	$2,963	$12,125	$12,125	$1,480
Communication Services	$27,548	$20,002	$7,132	$72,264	$33,125	$107,863	$143,990	$9,556	$13
Utilities	$67	$303	$882	$1,365	$3,720	$6,933	$17,683	$850	$10
TOTAL	$88,661	$198,722	$165,458	$644,852	$798,005	$3,174,773	$5,449,237	$222,980	$24,195

S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q2 2020 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS
Company	Ticker	Sector	Q2 2020	Q1 2020	Q2 2019	12-Months	12-Months	5-Year	10-Year	Indicated
			Buybacks	Buybacks	Buybacks	Jun,'20	Jun,'19	Buybacks	Buybacks	Dividend
			$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million	$ Million
Apple	AAPL	Information Technology	$17,559	$18,761	$18,154	$76,040	$71,443	$282,870	$378,070	$15,124
T-Mobile US	TMUS	Communication Services	$17,128	$141	$4	$17,321	$166	$19,414	$19,585	$0
Alphabet	GOOGL	Communication Services	$6,852	$8,496	$3,577	$27,142	$11,452	$53,138	$53,255	$0
Microsoft	MSFT	Information Technology	$5,791	$7,059	$4,633	$22,968	$19,543	$80,989	$124,692	$15,470
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals	REGN	Health Care	$5,469	$476	$30	$6,359	$210	$7,170	$7,857	$0
Oracle	ORCL	Information Technology	$5,346	$4,004	$6,301	$19,905	$36,643	$82,774	$118,725	$4,587
Berkshire Hathaway	BRKA	Financials	$4,998	$1,741	$548	$9,456	$3,479	$12,935	$13,002	$0
Biogen	BIIB	Health Care	$2,809	$2,220	$2,402	$7,840	$4,410	$22,573	$25,853	$0
Facebook	FB	Communication Services	$2,122	$1,940	$1,752	$7,724	$12,083	$31,916	$35,741	$0
Charter Communications	CHTR	Communication Services	$1,155	$2,352	$861	$8,579	$3,919	$28,071	$28,878	$0
BlackRock	BLK	Financials	$1,125	$657	$7	$1,898	$2,842	$9,154	$17,213	$2,240
Visa	V	Information Technology	$1,072	$3,141	$2,152	$8,862	$8,178	$36,953	$52,671	$2,025
HP	HPQ	Information Technology	$953	$123	$533	$2,228	$2,542	$9,302	$31,843	$1,001
Adobe	ADBE	Information Technology	$904	$1,317	$774	$3,784	$2,748	$10,917	$14,717	$0
Texas Instruments	TXN	Information Technology	$882	$1,641	$863	$3,468	$5,224	$16,688	$28,684	$3,304
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Health Care	$706	$1,711	$2,486	$4,471	$8,971	$32,564	$62,574	$10,644
Accenture plc	ACN	Information Technology	$627	$970	$489	$2,733	$2,836	$13,574	$25,476	$2,038
Fiserv	FISV	Information Technology	$604	$970	$2	$1,660	$1,307	$6,603	$9,966	$0
Dollar General	DG	Consumer Discretionary	$602	$63	$185	$1,480	$1,043	$5,008	$8,022	$362
PepsiCo	PEP	Consumer Staples	$567	$649	$793	$2,504	$2,863	$14,578	$32,099	$5,675
Top 20			$77,271	$58,432	$46,545	$236,422	$201,902	$777,192	$1,088,923	$62,470
S&P 500			$88,661	$198,722	$644,603	$644,604	$798,005	$3,174,525	$5,448,990	$503,015
Top 20 % of S&P 500			87.15%	29.40%	7.22%	36.68%	25.30%	24.48%	19.98%	12.42%
Gross values are not adjusted for float



S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 20 Largest Quarterly Buybacks, $ Millions, as of Q2 2020; Apple added at #11 and T-Mobile at #13
$ MILLIONS	QUARTER	COMPANY	SECTOR
$23,811	Q1 2019	Apple	Information Technology	1
$22,908	Q1 2018	Apple	Information Technology	2
$22,085	Q4 2019	Apple	Information Technology	3
$21,860	Q2 2018	Apple	Information Technology	4
$21,162	Q2 2006	QUALCOMM	Information Technology	5
$19,364	Q3 2018	Apple	Information Technology	6
$18,761	Q1 2020	Apple	Information Technology	7
$18,154	Q2 2019	Apple	Information Technology	8
$18,036	Q1 2014	Apple	Information Technology	9
$17,635	Q3 2019	Apple	Information Technology	10
$17,559	Q2 2020	Apple	Information Technology	11
$17,319	Q3 2014	Apple	Information Technology	12
$17,128	Q2 2020	T-Mobile	Communication Services	13
$16,413	Q2 2013	Apple	Information Technology	14
$15,707	Q3 2007	International Business Machines	Information Technology	15
$13,420	Q3 2015	Apple	Information Technology	16
$12,852	Q4 2013	Johnson & Johnson	Healthcare	17
$12,318	Q4 2016	Allergan plc (AGN)	Healthcare	18
$12,183	Q2 2012	Johnson & Johnson	Healthcare	19
$11,480	Q4 2016	Apple	Information Technology	20

S&P Dow Jones Indices
S&P 500 Q2 2020 Buyback Report

SECTOR	DIVIDEND	BUYBACK	COMBINED
	YIELD	YIELD	YIELD
Consumer Discretionary	0.75%	1.68%	2.43%
Consumer Staples	3.55%	1.23%	4.78%
Energy	6.72%	2.24%	8.96%
Financials	2.56%	5.39%	7.94%
HealthCare	1.77%	1.75%	3.52%
Industrials	1.86%	2.04%	3.89%
Information Technology	1.14%	2.60%	3.73%
Materials	2.13%	1.78%	3.92%
Real Estate	3.04%	0.38%	3.42%
Communications Services	1.27%	2.80%	4.06%
Utilities	3.53%	0.17%	3.70%
S&P 500	1.85%	2.36%	4.21%


Uses full values (unadjusted for float)
Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q2,'20

Share Count Changes
(Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS)	>=4%	<=-4%
Q2 2020	8.42%	18.04%
Q1 2020	8.00%	19.60%
Q4 2019	7.63%	20.68%
Q3 2019	8.62%	22.85%
Q2 2019	7.98%	24.15%
Q1 2019	8.03%	24.90%
Q4 2018	8.45%	18.71%
Q3 2018	6.43%	17.67%
Q2 2018	6.20%	15.60%
Q1 2018	7.01%	13.63%
Q4 2017	6.83%	15.06%
Q3 2017	8.62%	14.23%
Q2 2017	10.00%	14.00%

ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES

S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit: www.spdji.com.

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices