NEW YORK, March 25, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Dow Jones Indices ("S&P DJI") announced today that preliminary Q4 2018 S&P 500® stock buybacks, or share repurchases, set a fourth consecutive record of $223.0 billion. This displaces the previous record of $203.8 billion, set during Q3 2018 and is a 62.8% increase from the $137.0 billion reported for Q4 2017.

For the year 2018, buybacks set an annual (and 12-month) record of $806.4 billion, up 55.3% from the prior year's $519.4 billion, and up 36.9% from the prior annual record set in 2007, of $589.1 billion.

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

Key Takeaways:

The record buybacks came as Q4 2018 stock prices declined an average 5.3%, which increased the number of shares that companies could repurchase for the same amount of capital.

As a result, the percentage of companies that substantially reduced share counts of at least 4% year-over-year rose to 18.8% (90 total issues), up from the prior quarter's 17.7% (88 total issues) and Q4 2017's 15.1% (70 total issues), giving EPS a stronger tailwind.

S&P 500 Q4 2018 dividends totaled $119.8 billion , a new record, up 3.5% from the $115.7 billion in Q3 2018.

, a new record, up 3.5% from the in Q3 2018. Total shareholder return of buybacks and dividends for the quarter set a record of $342.8 billion , up 39.1% from the $246.4 billion reported for Q4 2017.

, up 39.1% from the reported for Q4 2017. Total shareholder return for 2018 set a record at $1.263 trillion , surpassing Q3's 12-month record of $1.166 trillion , and up 34.5% from $931.9 billion from 2017.

"Buybacks were again favored over dividends in both the rate of growth and aggregate dollars spent," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Companies continued to spend more of their tax savings on these share repurchases as they boosted earnings through significantly reduced share counts. Adding to the share reduction, and therefore the EPS impact, was Q4's stock price decline, which permitted companies to buy even more shares for their dollars and reduce share count more efficiently."

Silverblatt added "buybacks broadened out in Q4, as the top 20 issues accounted for 44.4% of all S&P 500 buybacks, near the recent historical average of 43.7%, down from Q3's 54.3%, Q2's 49.7% and Q1's 49.5%. For the year, however, the top 20 accounted for 42.2% of the buybacks, substantially up from 2017's 32.3%."

Q4 2018 GICS® Sector Analysis :

Information Technology buybacks declined 25.5% to $61.3 billion compared to $82.3 billion for Q3 2018, as 2018 expenditures were up 134.4% to $278.5 billion from $118.8 billion in 2017. The sector represents 27.5% of the index's buybacks for the quarter and 34.5% for all of 2018.

Health Care expenditures increased 116.4% to $31.3 billion compared to $14.5 billion for Q3 2018, as 2018 amounted to $108.7 billion, up 67.3% from the 2017 $65.0 billion expenditure.

Consumer sectors split (again), as Consumer Discretionary buybacks increased their expenditure 30.3% to $25.7 billion, up from $19.7 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $86.7 billion, up 3.7% from $83.6 billion. Consumer Staples decreased 4.4% to $9.6 billion, down from $10.0 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was down 34.2% to $33.4 billion from $50.8 billion.

Issues:

The five issues with the highest total buybacks for Q4 2018 are:

Apple (AAPL) led in buybacks, spending $10.1 billion in Q4 2018, down from $19.4 billion spent for Q3 2018. Its Q4 2018 expenditure ranked 19 th highest historically; for the year, Apple spent $74.2 billion on buybacks, up from 2017's $34.4 billion ; over the five-year period the company spent $229.0 billion , and $260.4 billion over the 10-year period.

(AAPL) led in buybacks, spending in Q4 2018, down from spent for Q3 2018. Its Q4 2018 expenditure ranked 19 highest historically; for the year, Apple spent on buybacks, up from 2017's ; over the five-year period the company spent , and over the 10-year period. Oracle (ORCL): $10.0 billion for Q4 2018, down from $10.3 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $29.3 billion , up $4.0 billion in 2017.

(ORCL): for Q4 2018, down from for Q3 2018; 2018 was , up in 2017. Wells Fargo (WFC): $7.3 billion for Q4 2018, slightly down from the $7.4 billion spent in Q3 2018; 2018 was $21.0 billion , up from $10.3 billion in 2017.

(WFC): for Q4 2018, slightly down from the spent in Q3 2018; 2018 was , up from in 2017. Microsoft (MSFT): $6.4 billion for Q4 2018, up from $3.7 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $16.3 billion , up from $8.4 billion in 2017.

(MSFT): for Q4 2018, up from for Q3 2018; 2018 was , up from in 2017. Merck (MRK): $5.9 billion for Q4 2018, up from $1.0 billion for Q3 2018; 2018 was $9.1 billion , up from $4.0 billion in 2017.

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

S&P Dow Jones Indices













S&P 500, $ U.S. BILLIONS (preliminary in bold)









PERIOD MARKET OPERATING AS REPORTED







DIVIDEND &

VALUE EARNINGS EARNINGS DIVIDENDS BUYBACKS DIVIDEND BUYBACK BUYBACK

$ BILLIONS $ BILLIONS $ BILLIONS $BILLIONS $ BILLIONS YIELD YIELD YIELD 2018 Prelim. $21,033.30 $1,281.83 $1,116.83 $456.31 $806.41 2.17% 3.83% 6.00% 2017 $22,821.24 $1,066.00 $940.86 $419.77 $519.40 1.84% 2.28% 4.12% 2016 $19,267.93 $919.85 $818.55 $397.21 $536.38 2.06% 2.78% 4.85% 2015 $17,899.56 $885.38 $762.74 $382.32 $572.16 2.14% 3.20% 5.33% 2014 $18,245.16 $1,004.22 $909.09 $350.43 $553.28 1.92% 3.03% 4.95%

















5YR Total (mkt avg) $19,853.44 $5,157.28 $4,548.07 $2,006.05 $2,987.62 10.10% 15.05% 25.15% 10YR Total (mkt avg) $16,124.68 $9,119.73 $8,158.26 $3,240.14 $4,703.66 20.09% 29.17% 49.26%

















12/31/2018 Prelim. $21,033 $293.99 $240.31 $119.81 $222.98 2.17% 3.83% 6.00% 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% 3/31/2016 $17,958 $208.99 $189.37 $96.67 $161.39 2.15% 3.28% 5.43% 12/31/2015 $17,900 $201.95 $163.76 $99.39 $145.88 2.14% 3.20% 5.33% 9/30/2015 $16,917 $224.14 $204.58 $95.07 $150.58 2.22% 3.30% 5.52% 6/30/2015 $18,219 $230.84 $201.35 $94.45 $131.56 2.03% 3.04% 5.07% 3/31/2015 $18,303 $228.45 $193.05 $93.41 $144.13 1.98% 2.94% 4.92% 12/30/2014 $18,245 $237.14 $202.31 $92.80 $132.63 1.92% 3.03% 4.95%

S&P Dow Jones Indices













S&P 500 SECTOR BUYBACKS













SECTOR $ MILLIONS Q4,'18 Q3,'18 Q4,'17 2018 2017 5-YEARS 10-YEARS















Consumer Discretionary $25,652 $19,688 $20,775 $86,674 $83,570 $433,558 $699,466 Consumer Staples $9,588 $10,025 $10,490 $33,449 $50,832 $214,958 $431,037 Energy $8,698 $7,330 $5,203 $30,427 $12,736 $105,104 $268,424 Financials $45,641 $40,643 $33,903 $150,054 $124,467 $548,839 $735,105 Healthcare $31,336 $14,482 $15,814 $108,692 $64,982 $391,651 $651,162 Industrials $23,026 $15,159 $11,561 $78,239 $53,560 $354,796 $511,604 Information Technology $61,298 $82,293 $35,817 $278,526 $118,848 $821,862 $1,221,998 Materials $5,857 $3,014 $2,067 $14,391 $5,857 $72,344 $101,473 Real Estate $1,480 $520 $1,314 $3,768 $3,844 $8,371 $8,371 Communication Services $9,556 $10,092 $9 $20,237 $485 $29,740 $58,762 Utilities $850 $509 $17 $1,952 $216 $6,400 $16,259 TOTAL $222,980 $203,756 $136,969 $806,408 $519,397 $2,987,621 $4,703,661

S&P Dow Jones Indices













S&P 500 20 LARGEST Q4 2018 BUYBACKS, $ MILLIONS











Company Ticker Sector Q4 2018 2018 2017 5-Year 10-Year Indicated





Buybacks Buybacks Buybacks Buybacks Buybacks Dividend





$ Million $ Million $ Million $ Million $ Million $ Million Apple AAPL Information Technology $10,114 $74,246 $34,427 $228,961 $260,449 $13,769 Oracle ORCL Information Technology $9,995 $29,306 $3,975 $58,680 $88,482 $3,445 Wells Fargo WFC Financials $7,308 $20,964 $10,301 $57,986 $71,610 $8,189 Microsoft MSFT Information Technology $6,413 $16,300 $8,405 $66,093 $118,506 $14,117 Merck MRK Health Care $5,933 $9,091 $4,014 $28,428 $43,774 $5,679 JPMorgan JPM Financials $5,928 $19,983 $15,410 $54,851 $73,155 $10,478 Bank of America BAC Financials $5,231 $20,094 $12,814 $42,069 $45,307 $5,795 Cisco Systems CSCO Information Technology $5,182 $22,936 $7,771 $46,276 $81,820 $6,163 Starbucks SBUX Consumer Discretionary $5,170 $10,709 $3,306 $18,828 $21,114 $1,791 Pfizer PFE Health Care $5,030 $12,198 $5,000 $32,035 $64,476 $7,995 Home Depot HD Consumer Discretionary $4,445 $9,963 $8,000 $38,843 $57,619 $6,145 Citigroup C Financials $4,206 $14,533 $14,946 $46,705 $50,090 $4,233 Facebook FB Communication Services $4,045 $16,087 $5,222 $21,388 $25,140 $0 Johnson & Johnson JNJ Health Care $3,808 $5,868 $6,358 $33,697 $62,014 $9,587 Broadcom AVGO Information Technology $3,513 $10,771 $0 $10,771 $11,090 $4,199 Walmart WMT Consumer Staples $3,249 $7,410 $8,296 $29,131 $68,413 $6,159 Alphabet GOOG/L Communication Services $2,650 $9,075 $4,846 $19,394 $20,312 $0 Visa V Information Technology $2,494 $7,914 $6,880 $30,050 $56,589 $1,750 Amgen AMGN Health Care $2,250 $17,920 $3,351 $26,902 $49,944 $3,609 Internat'l Bus Machines IBM Information Technology $2,073 $4,614 $4,533 $28,206 $98,936 $5,588 Top 20



$99,037 $339,982 $167,855 $919,294 $1,368,840 $118,690 S&P 500



$222,980 $806,408 $519,397 $2,987,621 $4,703,661 $490,570 Top 20 % of S&P 500



44.42% 42.16% 32.32% 30.77% 29.10% 24.19% Gross values are not adjusted for float













S&P Dow Jones Indices



S&P 500 20 Largest Quarterly Buybacks, $ Millions, as of Q4 2018 with 1 added $ MILLIONS QUARTER COMPANY SECTOR

$22,756 Q1 2018 Apple Information Technology 1 $21,860 Q2 2018 Apple Information Technology 2 $21,162 Q3 2018 QUALCOMM Information Technology 3 $20,783 Q2 2018 Apple Information Technology 4 $19,364 Q3 2018 Apple Information Technology 5 $17,971 Q1 2014 Apple Information Technology 6 $17,000 Q3 2014 Apple Information Technology 7 $16,000 Q2 2013 Apple Information Technology 8 $15,707 Q2 2007 Internat'l Bus Machines Information Technology 9 $13,253 Q3 2015 Apple Information Technology 10 $12,852 Q2 2012 Johnson & Johnson Healthcare 11 $12,318 Q4 2016 Allergan plc (AGN) Healthcare 12 $12,183 Q3 2012 Johnson & Johnson Healthcare 13 $10,851 Q4 2016 Apple Information Technology 14 $10,723 Q3 2007 Home Depot Consumer Discretionary 15 $10,697 Q1 2018 Amgen Healthcare 16 $10,346 Q3 2018 Oracle Information Technology 17 $10,166 Q2 2016 Apple Information Technology 18 $10,114 Q4 2018 Apple Information Technology 19 $10,095 Q4 2017 Apple Information Technology 20

S&P Dow Jones Indices







S&P 500 Q4 2018 Buyback Report















SECTOR DIVIDEND BUYBACK COMBINED



YIELD YIELD YIELD

Consumer Discretionary 1.32% 3.14% 4.46%

Consumer Staples 2.96% 1.85% 4.80%

Energy 3.32% 2.30% 5.63%

Financials 2.32% 4.94% 7.26%

HealthCare 1.72% 3.07% 4.79%

Industrials 1.98% 3.41% 5.38%

Information Technology 1.55% 5.27% 6.83%

Materials 2.22% 2.40% 4.63%

Real Estate 3.31% 0.53% 3.84%

Communications Services 1.73% 2.03% 3.75%

Utilities 3.40% 0.20% 3.61%

S&P 500 2.05% 3.40% 5.45%

Uses full values (unadjusted for float)





Dividends based on indicated; buybacks based on the last 12-months ending Q4'18

Share Count Reduction (SCR) SCR SCR (Y/Y diluted shares used for EPS) >=4% <=-4% Q4 2018 8.48% 18.79% 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% Q1 2017 12.00% 14.80% Q4 2016 10.48% 19.35% Q3 2016 9.94% 23.73% Q2 2016 10.48% 26.61% Q1 2016 10.06% 28.17% Q4 2015 9.48% 25.81% Q3 2015 9.64% 22.69% Q2 2015 9.04% 21.08% Q1 2015 7.62% 21.04% Q4 2014 6.04% 21.33%

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