Global share buybacks rose by 8.4% to $1.46trn last year, according to Capital Group’s latest ‘Buyback Watch’ report.
Buybacks are becoming a more established feature of capital allocation worldwide, with 52% of companies in Capital Group’s index of assessed companies repurchasing shares in 2025 – up from 36% a decade ago.
The value of buybacks has also increased by 123%, outpacing dividend growth of 98%, with buybacks now amounting to 75% of global dividends.
Share buybacks according to sector ($bn) over 10yrs
Source: Capital Group
As shown in the table above, financials accounted for 26% of global buybacks, rising 23.1% to £386bn, with banks accounting for $176bn of this. Technology company repurchases also increased by 18.5% to $312bn.
Meanwhile, the media sector’s buyback volume slightly declined as big internet companies focused on AI capital expenditure.
“Alphabet and Meta, along with Tencent in a distant third position, together accounted for two-thirds of the sector total, but all three of them cut their buybacks quite sharply in 2025 as AI hyperscaling absorbed huge quantities of cash,” the report noted.
Global buyback activity remains concentrated among a small number of larger companies, Capital Group added, with 20 firms accounting for 32% of global repurchases.
The study also showed a wide dispersion in how companies use buybacks across different global markets.
The US leads the way, accounting for 71% of all repurchases in 2025 and recording growth of 8.5%. Buybacks in the US were equivalent to 147% of dividends.
Katharine Dryer, equity asset class lead in Europe and Asia at Capital Group, said “share buybacks are no longer a US-centric phenomenon”, with the tool becoming a more established part of shareholder distributions around the world.
Growth rates vary, with the strongest increases coming from Canada (67.9%), Singapore (62.3%), the Netherlands (53.5%), France (44.4%) and Japan (15.3%). By contrast, activity was more muted in Germany and the UK, which logged a 2% and 1.4% increase respectively. Meanwhile, buyback activity was down in Australia and China by 17.5% and 34.5% respectively.
Growth in share buybacks across geographies over 10yrs
Source: Capital Group. Rebased to 100 as at 2015.
Dryer said: “Buybacks can be an efficient way to return surplus cash to investors once investment needs and balance sheets are funded. When priced and timed well, buybacks can meaningfully enhance shareholder outcomes.”