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Third-Quarter 2014 Corporate Buyback Scorecard; Industry Comparison

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
Transportation388,842 22,679 5.8 31.5 -1.6 29.4
Media646,803 57,291 8.9 32.2 -3.1 28.2
Healthcare Equipment and Services768,614 57,275 7.5 26.0 1.1 27.4
Diversified Financials734,216 48,116 6.6 33.6 -6.7 24.6
Commercial and Professional Services116,104 6,116 5.3 26.5 -1.6 24.5
Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Life Sciences1,574,043 60,411 3.8 30.9-5.1 24.2
Materials627,884 34,857 5.6 24.4 -1.1 22.9
Consumer Services328,908 12,968 3.9 18.3 3.5 22.4
Capital Goods1,356,693 85,345 6.3 26.1 -4.0 21.0
Insurance493,830 33,192 6.7 28.3 -7.1 19.1
Software and Services2,082,110 118,728 5.7 18.1 0.4 18.6
Banks1,086,961 39,465 3.6 27.1 -6.8 18.5
Automobiles and Components187,355 14,169 7.633.6 -11.418.4
Energy1,730,356 79,989 4.6 19.9 -1.4 18.2
Real Estate407,551 2,272 0.6 14.3 3.3 18.0
Retailing787,947 54,833 7.0 22.0 -5.0 15.8
Food and Staples Retailing519,847 22,062 4.2 21.8 -5.2 15.5
Food, Beverage and Tobacco969,787 45,409 4.7 16.3 -1.6 14.4
Household and Personal Products372,848 19,195 5.1 15.2 -3.9 10.7
Utilities527,771 1,527 0.3 11.0 -1.0 9.9
Consumer Durables and Apparel266,654 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.