Buybacks And dividends Rose 85% In Past 10 years: S&P Capital IQ

The amount allocated by S&P 500 companies towards repurchases and dividends has risen in each of the past five years and the trend would continue, notes S&P Capital.

Michael G Thompson and team at S&P Capital IQ in their October 19, 2015 research note titled: “Sector Disruptors: Buybacks And Dividends” point out that while dividend payouts tend to be more resistant to economic cycles, buybacks more broadly reflect economic backdrop.

Buybacks and dividends rose 85% in 10 years

Citing S&P Dow Jones Indices, Thompson et al. point out that S&P 500 companies had $1.3 trillion in cash and equivalents, available for discretionary purposes, on their balance sheets as of June 2015 and this amount is increasingly being committed to buybacks and...