Stock Buybacks Leap 25

Companies spent 25% more on stock repurchases in this year's third quarter than they did in the second quarter. In dollars, that's $145.19 billion versus $116.17 billion. Year over year, corporate-buyback layouts climbed 13.3%, from $128.16 billion. They had to, though, says Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, to offset issuance of shares used for employee options, as well as for mergers and acquisitions. For the 12 months through September 30, S&P 500 issues jacked up their buyback expenditures by 23.5%, to $550.05 billion from $445.32 billion during the preceding 12 months. On a sector basis, information technology added to its buyback dominance in this year's third quarter.