Goldman Sachs predicts a rebound in US stock buyback activity in 2026, but still below 2024 levels

Glonghui, February 3rd｜Goldman Sachs expects that the scale of US stock buybacks will see year-on-year growth in 2026, but in nominal terms, overall buyback activity will still not recover to 2024 levels. According to data compiled by Goldman Sachs and released by Neil Sethi, the average daily trading volume related to corporate buybacks is currently about 1.2 times the level so far in 2025, but only about 0.6 times the level in 2024. Goldman Sachs estimates that by the end of this week, about 59% of S&P 500 constituent companies will enter the stock buyback window, a significant increase compared to the end of January. The data also shows that the number of companies exiting the buyback blackout period continues to rise, with about 40% of companies successfully entering the open buyback window from mid-January to early February. Goldman Sachs stated that, historically, February has always been one of the most active months for US stock buybacks, ranking third in buyback activity among all months of the year.