Bank of America Strategists Say U.S. Share Buybacks Fell to a Five-Year Low
- See dividends outpacing buybacks in 2022 amid political risks
- View fewer buybacks as reversal of multi-decade bullish trend
This article is for subscribers only.
U.S. stock buybacks dropped to the lowest in five years in the first quarter, providing evidence of a reversal in the multi-decade bullish trend for equities, according to strategists at Bank of America Corp.
While buybacks typically slow at the end of each quarter ahead of the earnings season, spending by S&P 500 firms on share repurchases as a percentage of market capitalization fell to its lowest since the first quarter of 2017, strategists led by Jill Carey Hall wrote in a note. The dollar amount of the buybacks was still higher than during the other first quarters “post-crisis,” they said.