Goldman Sachs predicts that the share buyback activities of US stocks will increase in 2026, but there is still a gap compared to 2024.

Goldman Sachs expects that the scale of stock buybacks in the United States in 2026 will achieve year-on-year growth, but in terms of nominal value, overall buyback activity has not yet returned to the level of 2024. Data compiled by Goldman Sachs and released by Neil Sethi shows that the daily trading volume related to corporate buybacks is currently about 1.2 times the level since 2025, but only about 0.6 times the level of 2024. Goldman Sachs estimates that by the end of this week, approximately 59% of the companies in the S&P 500 index will enter the stock buyback window, a significant increase from the end of January. The data also shows that the number of companies exiting the buyback blackout period continues to increase, with about 40% of companies smoothly 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 stock buybacks in the U.S., ranking third in buyback activity among all months of the year.