5 Companies Buying Back Their Own Stock Hand Over Fist As the Stock Market Sells Off

Key points

• The piece highlights a market sell-off on November 5, where the Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 6% in a single day, framing the context for aggressive buyback activity.
• Lam Research announced a new $25 billion buyback authorization the same day its stock declined, representing about 10% of its market value and underscoring strong cash generation.
• PayPal has been a prolific repurchaser, allocating about $6 billion to buybacks over the past year and reducing its diluted share count by roughly 11% as leadership focuses on efficiency and core growth.
• General Motors completed a $6 billion buyback and immediately authorized a new $20 billion program, with leverage on a stock count that was over 1 billion shares a few years prior and free cash flow guidance raised to $11.5–$12.5 billion for the year.
• EPAM Systems expanded its buyback plan to up to $1.8 billion and is executing a $500 million accelerated share repurchase, while promising to return at least half of free cash flow to shareholders annually through 2029.
• Airbnb added a $12 billion buyback authorization to an existing program, backed by about $4.9 billion in free cash flow over the past year, though it notes dilution from stock-based compensation keeps share count down only about 3% year over year.