Apple, Alphabet Lead $262B Buyback Binge On Wall Street

Move over, dividends – corporate America is in love with itself again. According to JPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, U.S. corporate share buybacks surged in April, marking the strongest monthly pace in years and reinforcing their role as a stabilizing force in volatile markets.

May has kicked off with a fresh surge of stock buyback announcements, and it's not just a sprinkle – it's a full-blown cash confetti storm. Repurchase plans announced since April 1 now add up to $262 billion, suggesting companies are favoring ploughing extra cash into buybacks over, say, dividend payments.

Panigirtzoglou notes that this contrarian pattern – where buybacks ramp up following equity market corrections – was similarly evident during the Silicon Valley Bank crisis two years ago (the SVB collapsed in March 2023) and the early stages of the Ukraine war.

He notes that corporate repurchases complemented a rebound in equity-focused hedge fund positioning, which had previously de-risked in February and March, further amplifying April’s V-shaped equity recovery.

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Apple, Alphabet, Wells Fargo Leading Corporate Buybacks

Leading the parade is Apple Inc AAPL, flexing its financial muscles with a jaw-dropping $100 billion buyback—because, apparently, having a $2.7 trillion market cap wasn't enough self-confidence. This is no fluke; it's an "additional" buyback, which means Apple's just topping off a long-standing habit of hoarding its own stock like it’s going out of style.

Hot on its heels is Alphabet Inc GOOGL GOOG with a $70 billion share repurchase. Google may have axed cookies, but it's still baking up returns for shareholders in bulk.

Not to be outdone, Wells Fargo & Co WFC is pouring $40 billion into its own stock. After years of reputational rehab, the bank seems ready to bet on itself – in a very big way.

And it’s not just the mega-caps feeling themselves. KLA Corp KLAC dropped a $5 billion mic, Dick's Sporting Goods Inc DKS entered the game with $3 billion, and Shell PLC SHEL is scooping up $3.5 billion of its shares – proving oil profits aren't just for gas stations and exec bonuses.

Tech’s Buyback Binge

Tech is clearly in a buyback binge: Broadcom Inc AVGO announced $10 billion in early April, and Applied Materials Inc AMAT followed suit with its own $10 billion plan.

Meanwhile, Align Technology Inc ALGN flashed its smile with a fresh $1 billion authorization, maybe to offset Invisalign's market volatility.

Consumer Stocks – Not Far Behind

There's also action in the consumer and industrial space. Graphic Packaging Holding Co GPK, Ingersoll Rand Inc IR, and Cirrus Logic Inc CRUS all made $500 million–$1.5 billion commitments.

Even MGM Resorts International MGM got in on the game with a $2 billion plan – perhaps betting on itself while its visitors bet on the slots.

The pattern is clear: buybacks are back with a vengeance. Whether it’s to boost EPS, signal confidence, or fend off activist investors, companies are scooping up shares at a pace that has investors sitting up – and short sellers sweating.

Bottom line? When the biggest names in business are buying their own stock, it might be time for investors to take notice—before the buyback wave pushes prices even higher.

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