Media365
Global stock buy-backs rose to a record US$1.46 trillion yuan in 2025, as listed companies stepped up efforts to return cash to public shareholders amid a rally in equities, according to US asset-management firm Capital Group.
“Share buy-backs are no longer a US-centric phenomenon,” said Katharine Dryer, equity asset class lead for Europe and Asia at Capital Group. “Buy-backs can be an efficient way to return surplus cash to investors once investment needs and balance sheets are funded. When priced and timed well, buy-backs can meaningfully enhance shareholder outcomes.”
Buy-backs refer to listed companies repurchasing their own shares and then cancelling them as a way to return value to public shareholders and boost earnings per share.
Some 52 per cent of the 1,600 listed companies tracked by Capital Group carried out buy-backs last year, compared with 36 per cent a decade ago, according to the report. But the move was concentrated among large companies, which made up nearly one-third of the repurchases worldwide, it said.
