Buyback
Scorecard As Stocks Edge Higher, Buyback Programs Get RiskierThe S&P 500 as Stock Repurchasers Best & Worst Companies
The table below ranks the 276 companies in the S&P 500 that bought back at least 4 percent of their shares from March 31, 2013, through March 31, 2015. The companies are ranked according to their return on investment from these repurchases. As calculated by Fortuna Advisors, a New York City-based consultancy that compiled the data for Institutional Investor, buyback ROI measures the overall rate of return of buybacks, based on the internal rate of return of the cash flows associated with them. Buyback strategy tracks the performance of the underlying stock in terms of annualized total shareholder return. Once Fortuna determines buyback ROI and buyback strategy, buyback effectiveness can then be calculated as simply the difference between the two, determined as compounded return.

How Industries Compare as Stock Repurchasers
Industry Market
Cap ($ Millions)		Total
Buyback (S Millions)		$ Total
Buyback as %
Market Cap 		Buyback
Strategy 		Buyback
Effectiveness 		Buyback ROI
Technology Hardware and Equipment1,270,193 144,56111.429.36.337.5
Healthcare Equipment and Services961,556 54,908 5.732.40.232.7
Food and Staples Retailing 620,114 20,766 3.3 32.6 -0.5 31.9
Real Estate 506,922 1,988 0.4 19.4 10.4 31.8
Retailing 922,342 54,188 5.9 28.1 1.5 30.0
Transportation 399,747 25,636 6.4 33.5 -3.2 29.1
Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment 445,014 27,483 6.2 30.2 -1.7 28.0
Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences 1,696,959 70,988 4.2 27.2 -6.6 18.8
Consumer Services 351,933 14,791 4.2 18.5 0.0 18.5
Insurance 496,769 42,641 8.6 21.3 -4.4 16.0
Capital Goods 1,401,644 96,554 6.9 23.0 -6.2 15.4
Software and Services 2,143,452 114,161 5.3 17.2 -2.2 14.6
Materials 602,718 40,740 6.8 17.7 -3.0 14.2
Consumer Durables and Apparel 307,594 13,204 4.3 21.3 -6.1 13.9
Diversified Financials 745,158 51,168 6.9 21.7 -6.6 13.7
Media 676,645 60,659 9.0 22.1 -7.0 13.6
Commercial and Professional Services 130,757 8,818 6.7 16.0 -3.5 11.9
Banks 1,083,031 45,951 4.2 19.4 -6.4 11.7
Food, Beverage and Tobacco 1,040,566 47,617 4.6 15.6 -4.1 10.8
Household and Personal Products 369,198 17,809 4.8 12.5 -2.0 10.3
Automobiles and Components 214,938 13,763 6.4 19.4 -7.8 10.1
Utilities 559,406 1,840 0.3 12.9 -6.5 5.6
Telecommunication Services 416,779 15,758 3.8 4.8 -0.9 3.9
Energy1,504,934 79,253 5.33.1-7.5 -4.7
S&P 500 18,868,368 1,065,243 5.6 21.9-2.3 19.1
Source: Fortuna Advisors Analysis using data from the Capital IQ database. Financial Data from March 2013 to March 2015. Includes the 492 members of the current S&P 500 that were public for the full period. Market Capitalization as of: 03/31/2015. Companies included here if $ Total Buyback / Market Capitalization is greater than 4% or if $ Total Buyback is greater than $1 billion.