S&P 500 companies repurchased $922.7 billion of their shares last year, a record according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. This was up 4.6% from 2021's $881.7 billion.
Dividends were $564.6 billion, also the highest ever. They increased by more than 10% from 2021.
The buybacks came as the S&P 500 fell by more than 19% last year. As a result, valuations became less expensive. The index's price-to-earnings ratio dropped from 26 at the end of 2021 to 18 as of Dec. 31, 2022.
Among the companies that spent the most on buying back their stock, Apple topped the list with $94.1 billion coming after it expended $88.3 billion the previous year. The 20 largest repurchasers accounted for more than 37% of the total amount spent last year.
The information technology sector represented more than 28% of 2022's repurchase activity. Real estate and utilities were each less than 1%.
