Where the cash went

76%

of free cash flow · returned to shareholders

58%

of what was returned · went to buybacks, not dividends

249

companies · paid out more than their free cash flow

1. Of every $100 that came in from operations, $42 went back into the business as capital spending, $18 out as dividends and $26 into buybacks. What was left after capital spending, the free cash flow of $1.86T, went 76% to shareholders.
2. Buybacks are the bigger channel: $826B against $589B in dividends. 776 of the 1,173 companies bought back shares, 654 paid a dividend, and 196 did neither.
3. Both are concentrated. The ten largest buyers spent 35% of all the buyback money, Apple Inc. alone $90.7B. Capital spending is more concentrated still: five companies, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Oracle, spent $465B, 35% of the total, most of it on data centers.
4. 249 of the 1,087 companies with positive free cash flow paid out more than it, the difference coming from cash in hand or borrowing; the largest gap was Exxon Mobil Corporation’s, $13.9B. 86 spent more on capital projects than they made from operations.
5. Real Estate hands back the most, 60% of its operating cash. Utilities spend 99% of theirs on capital projects and borrow for the rest.

• Real Estate60% returned
• Consumer Defensive57% returned
• Industrials56% returned
• Technology50% returned
• Healthcare49% returned
• Basic Materials45% returned
• Energy42% returned
• Communication Services34% returned
• Consumer Cyclical32% returned
• Utilities25% returned

Where a sector spent more than its operating cash, the bar is drawn against what it spent; the rest came from borrowing or cash in hand.

Buybacks after the shares handed out as pay are on biggest real buybacks.