{
  "title": "Megacap Buybacks and Diluted Share Count: Are Repurchases Shrinking Shares?",
  "path": "/research/megacap-buybacks-and-share-count",
  "publishedAt": "2026-09-25",
  "updatedAt": null,
  "dataAsOf": "2026-09-21",
  "version": "1.0",
  "universe": {
    "snapshotAsOfDate": "2026-09-09",
    "securityLines": 10,
    "companies": 9,
    "topTenWeightPct": 38.09
  },
  "coverage": {
    "repurchaseCoverageCompanies": 7,
    "repurchaseCoveragePct": 77.78,
    "observedPositiveRepurchaseCompanies": 6,
    "explicitZeroRepurchaseCompanies": 1,
    "unobservedRepurchaseCompanies": 2
  },
  "companies": [
    {
      "companyId": "nvidia",
      "name": "NVIDIA",
      "ticker": "NVDA",
      "securityLines": [
        "NVDA"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 8.25,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2026-01-25",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2025-01-26",
      "latestDilutedShares": 24514000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 24804000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": -1.17,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 40086000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-02-25",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": true,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": false,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "apple",
      "name": "Apple",
      "ticker": "AAPL",
      "securityLines": [
        "AAPL"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 7.05,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-09-27",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-09-28",
      "latestDilutedShares": 15004697000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 15408095000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": -2.62,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 90711000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2025-10-31",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": true,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": false,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "microsoft",
      "name": "Microsoft",
      "ticker": "MSFT",
      "securityLines": [
        "MSFT"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 5.56,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2026-06-30",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2025-06-30",
      "latestDilutedShares": 7453000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 7465000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": -0.16,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 22271000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-07-29",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": true,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": false,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "amazon",
      "name": "Amazon",
      "ticker": "AMZN",
      "securityLines": [
        "AMZN"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 3.76,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-12-31",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-12-31",
      "latestDilutedShares": 10827000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 10721000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": 0.99,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": null,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": false,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": null,
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-02-06",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": false,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": true,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": false
    },
    {
      "companyId": "alphabet",
      "name": "Alphabet",
      "ticker": "GOOGL / GOOG",
      "securityLines": [
        "GOOGL",
        "GOOG"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 5.31,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-12-31",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-12-31",
      "latestDilutedShares": 12230000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 12447000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": -1.74,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 45709000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-02-05",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": true,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": false,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "broadcom",
      "name": "Broadcom",
      "ticker": "AVGO",
      "securityLines": [
        "AVGO"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 2.63,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-11-02",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-11-03",
      "latestDilutedShares": 4853000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 4778000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": 1.57,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 2450000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2025-12-18",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": false,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": true,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "meta-platforms",
      "name": "Meta Platforms",
      "ticker": "META",
      "securityLines": [
        "META"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 2.19,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-12-31",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-12-31",
      "latestDilutedShares": 2574000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 2614000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": -1.53,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 26248000000,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-01-29",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": true,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": false,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": true
    },
    {
      "companyId": "micron",
      "name": "Micron",
      "ticker": "MU",
      "securityLines": [
        "MU"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 1.76,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-08-28",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-08-29",
      "latestDilutedShares": 1125000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 1118000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": 0.63,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": 0,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": true,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": "PaymentsForRepurchaseOfCommonStock",
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2025-10-03",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": false,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": true,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": false
    },
    {
      "companyId": "tesla",
      "name": "Tesla",
      "ticker": "TSLA",
      "securityLines": [
        "TSLA"
      ],
      "indexWeightPct": 1.58,
      "latestPeriodEnd": "2025-12-31",
      "priorPeriodEnd": "2024-12-31",
      "latestDilutedShares": 3528000000,
      "priorDilutedShares": 3498000000,
      "dilutedShareChangePct": 0.86,
      "latestStockRepurchasesUsd": null,
      "repurchaseFactAvailable": false,
      "stockRepurchasesConcept": null,
      "latestAvailableFrom": "2026-01-29",
      "dilutedSharesReduced": false,
      "dilutedSharesIncreased": true,
      "positiveRepurchasesObserved": false
    }
  ],
  "selectedFindings": {
    "totalObservedStockRepurchasesUsd": 227475000000,
    "companiesWithDilutedShareReduction": 5,
    "companiesWithDilutedShareIncrease": 4,
    "companiesWithUnchangedDilutedShares": 0,
    "companiesWithPositiveRepurchasesAndShareReduction": 5,
    "companiesWithPositiveRepurchasesAndShareIncrease": 1,
    "medianDilutedShareChangePct": -0.16,
    "largestObservedRepurchaserTicker": "AAPL",
    "largestObservedRepurchasesUsd": 90711000000,
    "largestShareReductionTicker": "AAPL",
    "largestShareReductionPct": -2.62,
    "largestShareIncreaseTicker": "AVGO",
    "largestShareIncreasePct": 1.57
  },
  "sources": {
    "companyFactsUrl": "https://data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/",
    "cohortResearchPath": "/research/sp500-ai-concentration"
  },
  "methodology": {
    "latestPeriodRule": "For each issuer, use the latest normalized annual period with diluted weighted-average shares publicly filed by the filing cutoff. Net income and stock repurchases are optional secondary observations from that same selected period.",
    "priorPeriodRule": "Use the latest earlier normalized annual period ending 300 to 430 days before the selected latest period and containing diluted weighted-average shares.",
    "latestPeriodFreshnessRule": "The selected latest annual period must end no more than 430 days before the filing cutoff; older observations fail measurement review rather than silently representing the current cohort.",
    "stockRepurchaseMagnitudeRule": "Treat canonical stock-repurchase cash-flow facts as payment magnitudes by using the absolute reported value.",
    "missingRepurchaseBoundary": "An absent canonical stock-repurchase fact is unobserved, not zero. Coverage must be reported explicitly and missing issuers must not be included in repurchase-dollar aggregates.",
    "shareCountBoundary": "Diluted weighted-average shares are an earnings denominator, not a point-in-time shares-outstanding count. Year-over-year change reflects the net effect of repurchases, equity compensation, issuance, conversions, acquisitions, and intra-year timing. The study does not attribute dilution to stock-based compensation.",
    "crossCompanyBoundary": "Share counts are company-specific units and must not be summed across issuers. Cross-company summaries may count direction of change and sum dollar-denominated repurchases only across issuers with observed repurchase facts."
  }
}