With roughly one-third of the S&P 500 having reported earnings by the end of January, early insights into corporate capital return behavior are coming into focus. In this post, we examine share repurchase authorizations announced in January and compare them with prior years to assess how companies are approaching buybacks in the current market environment.
- Authorizations Accelerated: Companies announced approximately $94 billion of share repurchase authorizations in January ($49 billion excluding programs of $10 billion or more), marking a notable increase versus January 2024 and January 2025 levels.
- Broad sector participation: Buyback activity was relatively diversified, with non‑bank financials, technology and consumer‑oriented companies leading authorization totals.
- Opportunistic buybacks amid weakness: Several repurchase authorizations — particularly in technology — followed periods of stock-price weakness, suggesting management teams are taking advantage of recent pullbacks to deploy capital opportunistically.
- Constructive management tone: Where commentary was provided, many companies cited strong cash flow generation and confidence in business fundamentals. For some of the authorizations, this commentary was made in the context of recently depressed valuations.
What does the share repurchase data show about overall activity?
Entering January 2026, the S&P 500 was roughly 16% higher than a year earlier, while the Nasdaq Composite was up about 20% versus January 2025. Despite this strong year-over-year performance, meaningful uncertainties remain heading into 2026 — including the path of interest rates, the durability of earnings growth, broader macroeconomic conditions and the risk of shifting investor sentiment and valuations. In several sectors where companies have historically been active repurchasers, changes in sentiment and valuation have already manifested in notable stock price declines. Against this backdrop, an important question emerges: are companies still committing capital to share buybacks?
To gauge corporate sentiment during the heart of the Q4 earnings season, we compared share repurchase authorizations announced in January 2026 with those from prior years. In total, 34 companies announced buyback programs worth approximately $94 billion. Excluding programs of $10 billion or more, 31 companies announced authorizations totaling roughly $49 billion. These levels represent a meaningful pickup from January 2025 and a return to authorization volumes more consistent with those observed in 2023.
|
Authorizations (Excluding $10bn+ Programs) |
All Authorizations | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Programs |
Aggregate Size ($bn) |
Programs |
Aggregate Size ($bn) |
|
January 2026 |
31 |
$49 |
34 |
$94 |
|
January 2025 |
22 |
$36 |
25 |
$71 |
|
January 2024 |
32 |
$27 |
33 |
$42 |
|
January 2023 |
32 |
$48 |
33 |
$123 |
Data excludes banks and companies with less than $1bn of market capitalization. Source: VerityData
What sectors have been most active?
Consistent with trends observed during Q3 2025, share repurchase authorizations in January were broad‑based across sectors. Non‑bank financials, technology and consumer companies accounted for a majority of announced programs.
Some buybacks authorized in context of decreased equity valuations
In several situations, predominantly within the technology sector, repurchase authorizations were announced following periods of stock price weakness. The prior 90-day return was negative in 12 authorizations. Even amid potential shifts in market sentiment, these companies appear to be maintaining confidence in their businesses and, in some instances, taking advantage of the pullback to repurchase shares opportunistically (e.g., Guidewire, Veeva and ServiceNow).
Company Commentary
Many repurchase programs were announced with limited commentary, as they represented extensions or renewals of existing capital return frameworks. Where management teams did provide color, comments generally emphasized balance sheet strength, confidence in long‑term fundamentals and flexibility in execution.
- ServiceNow ($5bn): “The expanded buyback authorization underscores our confidence in the enduring value of the ServiceNow platform and our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders while continuing to invest in our high-growth AI roadmap.”
- Hilton ($3.5bn): “The repurchase authorization aligns with Hilton’s balanced capital allocation approach, offering flexibility to return capital to shareholders while preserving financial strength and growth initiatives in hospitality.”
- Veeva Systems ($2bn): “This program demonstrates our confidence in the company’s growth strategy and ability to generate consistent cash flow, enabling us to return capital to shareholders over time.”
- Paychex ($1bn): “We view share repurchases as an efficient use of excess capital when our stock is trading at attractive valuations, while still maintaining investments in our core business and client services.”
Conclusions
Share repurchase authorizations are off to a strong start in this earnings cycle. Despite elevated equity prices, ongoing macro uncertainty and shifting investor sentiment in some sectors, many management teams continue to signal confidence in their businesses through renewed or expanded buyback programs. As 2026 begins, the early‑season data suggests that share buybacks remain a priority.
If you’d like to discuss share repurchase strategy, capital structure or financing alternatives, please contact Matthews South.
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