Investing.com – European corporates announced significant share buyback programs in 2024, and Barclays (LON:) expects this strong buyback activity to continue in 2025.
companies announced share buyback program of around E290 billion, making 2024 the third-highest buyback volume year ever, analysts at Barclays said, in a note dated Jan. 9.
“The Energy sector hit a record high with 11% Mcap buyback programs announced, up from last year. Tech also saw an increase, announcing 4.3% MCap in buybacks. Finally, companies announced 2.5% MCap, slightly below last year,” the UK bank said.
Shrinking equity supply has been an on-going theme for European stocks over the last three years. Share repurchases have driven overall share count lower over this period, and buybacks have generated a 1.9% yield for the STOXX 600 and contributed to 40% of the total shareholder yield.
“Given Europe’s fragile macro backdrop – weak macro data,…
