Apple, Meta power 27% of Q2 S&P 500 buybacks despite 20% drop

[Low angle view of skyscrapers in London]
Gary Yeowell

S&P 500 companies spent $234.6 billion on stock buybacks in Q2, a 20% decline from the record Q1 but nearly unchanged compared to the same period last year, with the information technology sector leading buyback activity despite a 16.3% decline.

Of note were the top four: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL]), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/META]), Alphabet (GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) (GOOGL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOGL]), and NVIDIA (NVDA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVDA]), which accounted for almost 27% of the S&P 500's total buybacks.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL]) continued to dominate the issue-level buybacks as it again spent the most of any issue with its Q2 2025 expenditure, ranking as the tenth highest in S&P 500 history.

"Companies pulled back on buybacks in the second quarter as uncertainty over tariffs and economic policy increased significantly, resulting in more cautious corporate cash outlays for the period," said Howard Silverblatt, Senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Participation in buybacks (67.6%) declined from the first quarter (76.8%) but was seen as supportive of buying, especially given the uncertainty in the market, Silverblatt stated.

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(S&P Dow Jones Indices)

Buybacks were more concentrated, with the top 20 companies making up 51.3% of the total, higher than both the recent and pre-COVID averages.

Utilities, meanwhile, were the only sector to increase spending, up 16.5% over Q1 2025; health care reduced spending by 39.3%, information technology by 16.3%, and communication services by 15.0%.

For the third quarter, as volatility and uncertainty continue, policy direction has started to clear up, permitting companies to plan and spend, the S&P report stated, adding that buybacks are expected to return to near first quarter record levels.

"For the full-year 2025, shareholder returns via buybacks and dividends from S&P 500 companies are expected to easily set a record expenditure, posting a double-digit gain for buybacks and a mid-single-digit gain for dividends," said Silverblatt.

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