What Stocks Have Largest Share Buybacks Now?

In February 2025 alone, over 160 companies announced new buyback plans – more than double the prior month​.

Goldman Sachs even projects S&P 500 buybacks to hit a record > $1 trillion in 2025, led by tech giants like Apple, Alphabet, Meta, and others​.

Below is a ranked list of mid- and large-cap companies expected to have the strongest daily share repurchase activity through the end of Q1 2025, based on program size, recent buyback volumes, and management commentary:

1. Apple Inc. (AAPL) – Mega-cap technology 

• Buyback Program Size: Ongoing multi-year program with annual authorizations of ~$90 billion. Apple spent $23.6 billion on share repurchases in Q1 FY2025 alone​, in line with its aggressive capital return strategy.
• Estimated Daily Buyback Volume: Roughly $350–$400 million per trading day on average (based on ~$23.6B in a quarter​). This massive pace is consistent with recent years – Apple bought back $69B in the first nine months of 2024​.
• % of Outstanding Shares: About 3–4% of shares annually. Apple’s buybacks reduced its share count by ~2.5% in 2024 (spending $61B over the year)​ and are on track for a similar ~3–4% reduction in 2025.
• Strategy & Commentary: Apple’s management has repeatedly affirmed that returning excess cash to shareholders is a priority. These buybacks signal management’s confidence in Apple’s future and also steadily boost its EPS by shrinking the float. Apple’s consistent, high-volume repurchases have been a major factor in supporting its share price (now around all-time highs, recently reaching a $3T market cap).

2. Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) – Mega-cap technology 

• Buyback Program Size: Alphabet’s board authorized an additional $70 billion buyback in April 2024​, coinciding with its first-ever dividend initiation, bringing its total buyback capacity to one of the largest in the market. In 2024, Alphabet spent $61.8 billion on share repurchases​ – a record sum – indicating the program is being actively executed.
• Estimated Daily Buyback Volume: Approximately $240–$260 million per day in recent quarters. Alphabet repurchased $15.1 billion in Q4 2024 alone​, averaging around $250M per trading day, and it has likely sustained a similar pace into Q1 2025.
• % of Outstanding Shares: Roughly 2–3% of shares annually. Despite the huge dollar amounts, Alphabet’s high share price means buybacks reduced the share count by about 2.5% in 2024. With the new $70B authorization (~4% of its market cap), 2025 repurchases could equal ~4–5% of shares if fully utilized.
• Strategy & Commentary: Management has stated repurchases will be done “in a manner deemed in the best interest of the company”​ – indicating they will be opportunistic but sizable. The company’s cash hoard and strong cash flows enable continued aggressive buybacks even as it invests heavily in AI and other growth areas. Alphabet’s willingness stock buy back at a steady clip of over $60B/year recently provides a significant tailwind to EPS growth and has supported its stock during market volatility.

3. Meta Platforms (META) – Large-cap tech 

• Buyback Program Size: Meta announced a whopping $50 billion expansion of its share repurchase authorization in its Q4 2024 earnings​. As of year-end 2024 it still had $30.9 billion remaining from previous buybacks​, bringing total authorization to roughly $80 billion (over 10% of its market cap). This came alongside Meta initiating its first-ever dividend, signaling a more balanced capital return plan.
• Estimated Daily Buyback Volume: $100+ million per day (potential). Meta repurchased $29.75 billion of stock in 2024 (all in the first three quarters)​, averaging about $120M/day when active. Notably, Meta paused buybacks in Q4 2024 (repurchases were nil in Q4)​, likely to rebuild cash and as the stock climbed. With the new $50B authorization, Meta is expected to ramp up repurchases again in Q1–Q2 2025, especially if its stock price consolidates.
• % of Outstanding Shares: ~4% of shares in 2024, and up to 10%+ over the next couple years with the expanded program. The 2024 buybacks (nearly $30B) were about 4% of Meta’s average market cap. If Meta utilizes a substantial portion of the $80B authorization in 2025–26, it could retire over 10% of shares at current prices – a huge reduction.
• Strategy & Commentary: Meta’s leadership has become very shareholder-friendly in capital allocation. On the Q4 call, CFO Susan Li highlighted that combining a dividend with ongoing buybacks provides “a balanced and flexible capital-return program”, reflecting confidence in Meta’s cash generation​. The massive buyback plan signals management’s confidence in Meta’s core businesses and ability to invest in the metaverse and AI while still returning cash. After a year of outsized stock gains, Meta appears committed to repurchases as a way to support the stock (and offset dilution from stock comp) going forward. With ~$78B in cash on hand, Meta has ample capacity to execute on its authorized buybacks aggressively.

4. PayPal Holdings (PYPL) – Large-cap fintech 

• Buyback Program Size: PayPal’s board approved a new $15 billion share repurchase program in Feb 2025, on top of ~$5B remaining from its 2022 authorization​. This boosted PayPal’s total buyback firepower to about $20 billion, roughly 25% of its market value​ – an unusually large percentage for a company of its size. Management indicated about $6 billion is planned for repurchases during 2025​, with flexibility to do more over time.
• Estimated Daily Buyback Volume: ~$20–25 million per day on average in 2025. If PayPal deploys $6B this year as planned​, that averages ~$24M each trading day. This represents 3–4% of PayPal’s daily stock trading volume, a meaningful support level for the shares. Management is likely to take advantage of price dips – notably, PayPal’s stock fell ~13% after its Q4 earnings despite solid results​, potentially giving an attractive entry for its buyback.
• % of Outstanding Shares: Up to ~10% of shares in 2025 (if $6B of ~$20B authorization is used) and total capacity for ~25% over time​. PayPal’s new $15B program alone equals ~19–25% of shares (depending on stock price)​. Even the more modest $6B planned for 2025 would shrink the float by ~8% at current prices – a significant reduction in one year.
• Strategy & Commentary: PayPal initiated this massive buyback to underscore management’s confidence in the company’s strong free cash flow (up 40% year-on-year)​ and long-term growth after a period of stock underperformance. Executives noted the authorization “shows strong confidence” in PayPal’s business trajectory and ability to generate cash​. The buybacks are part of PayPal’s broader capital allocation pivot: with fewer major acquisitions on the horizon, the company is focused on returning cash to shareholders. Investors should also note that PayPal’s hefty buyback could help stabilize its stock price, which has been volatile – substantial repurchases on down days may mitigate further declines and gradually accrete value to remaining shareholders.

5. Lyft Inc. (LYFT) – Mid-cap ride-sharing 

• Buyback Program Size: Lyft announced its first-ever share repurchase program in February 2025 – a $500 million authorization, representing about 8–8.5% of Lyft’s market cap​. There is no fixed end-date; repurchases will occur “from time to time” in the open market or via private transactions, subject to market conditions​.
• Estimated Daily Buyback Volume: ~$5–10 million per day when active. If Lyft were to execute the full $500M evenly over, say, 3–6 months, it would equate to several million dollars of stock bought per day. As a percentage of volume, this could be ~5–8% of Lyft’s daily trading value (Lyft trades around $150–200M worth of shares daily at ~$13/share). The program gives management flexibility – they could accelerate purchases on dips. For context, an 8% buyback (~$400M) spread over 1 year would average about 1% of shares repurchased per month.
• % of Outstanding Shares: Up to 8.4% of shares can be repurchased under this plan​. Such a reduction would meaningfully boost Lyft’s EPS (the company only recently turned profitable). Even partial execution (e.g. 4–5% of shares) could help offset stock dilution and support the share price.
• Strategy & Commentary: This inaugural buyback underscores Lyft’s improving financial position, after posting its first-ever annual net profit and a record $766M free cash flow in 2024​. Management and the board appear to view Lyft’s stock as undervalued – the authorization is a signal of confidence to the market​. Analysts note that stock buyback programs “are typically an indication that leadership believes the stock is undervalued”​. By deploying some of its cash to buy shares, Lyft aims to support its stock price (which had fallen ~80% from its peak) and return capital to shareholders without impacting growth investments. Investors will be watching how aggressively Lyft executes this program in the coming weeks; strong daily buyback activity could provide a floor for the shares as the company works to close the gap with its larger rival Uber.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.