Buyback
Scorecard U.S. Share Buybacks Rebound but Face Sharp CriticismThe S&P 500 as Stock Repurchasers Best & Worst Programs
The table below ranks industries by the weighted average buyback ROI of their S&P 500 constituents from September 31, 2012 through September 31, 2014. 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 Equipment1,168,921 124,028 10.6 14.8 20.3 38.1
Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment432,201 23,163 5.4 24.4 10.8 37.8
Transportation 388,842 22,679 5.8 31.5 -1.6 29.4
Media 646,803 57,291 8.9 32.2 -3.1 28.2
Healthcare Equipment and Services 768,614 57,275 7.5 26.0 1.1 27.4
Diversified Financials 734,216 48,116 6.6 33.6 -6.7 24.6
Commercial and Professional Services 116,104 6,116 5.3 26.5 -1.6 24.5
Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences 1,574,043 60,411 3.8 30.9 -5.1 24.2
Materials 627,884 34,857 5.6 24.4 -1.1 22.9
Consumer Services 328,908 12,968 3.9 18.3 3.5 22.4
Capital Goods 1,356,693 85,345 6.3 26.1 -4.0 21.0
Insurance 493,830 33,192 6.7 28.3 -7.1 19.1
Software and Services 2,082,110 118,728 5.7 18.1 0.4 18.6
Banks 1,086,961 39,465 3.6 27.1 -6.8 18.5
Automobiles and Components 187,355 14,169 7.6 33.6 -11.4 18.4
Energy 1,730,356 79,989 4.6 19.9 -1.4 18.2
Real Estate 407,551 2,272 0.6 14.3 3.3 18.0
Retailing 787,947 54,833 7.0 22.0 -5.0 15.8
Food and Staples Retailing 519,847 22,062 4.2 21.8 -5.2 15.5
Food, Beverage and Tobacco 969,787 45,409 4.7 16.3 -1.6 14.4
Household and Personal Products 372,848 19,195 5.1 15.2 -3.9 10.7
Utilities 527,771 1,527 0.3 11.0 -1.0 9.9
Consumer Durables and Apparel 266,654 11,223 4.2 22.4 -11.5 8.3
Telecommunication Services437,207 21,337 4.9 3.0 3.6 6.7
S&P 500 18,013,452 995,650 5.5 22.8 -0.5 22.2
Source: Fortuna Advisors Analysis using data from the Capital IQ database. Financial Data from September 2012 to September 2014. Includes the 491 members of the current S&P 500 that were public for the full period. Market Capitalization as of: 09/30/2014. Companies included here if $ Total Buyback / Market Capitalization is greater than 4% or if $ Total Buyback is greater than $1 billion.