Buyback Yield

Buyback yield is the percentage of a company's market value returned to shareholders through net share repurchases.

Part of the Growth & Capital Returns course · Lesson 22 of 26

Formula

(Share Repurchases - Share Issuance) / Market Capitalization

What it is

Buyback yield measures how much a company gives back to owners by buying its own shares, expressed as a percentage of its market capitalization. Repurchasing shares reduces the share count, which increases each remaining shareholder's stake. It is the buyback counterpart to dividend yield.

Why it matters

Buybacks are a flexible way to return cash and can lift EPS by shrinking the share count. The key pitfall is using gross buybacks: a company may repurchase shares while issuing just as many to employees, so net buyback yield (repurchases minus issuance) is the honest measure.

How it's calculated

Take cash spent on share repurchases minus cash from new share issuance, then divide by the company's market capitalization.

How Quintarthai uses it

Share-repurchase activity appears in the 10-year cash-flow statement on the Financials tab, and changes in share count are tracked on each company page. Open a company page in the app to see the detail.

Cross-border note. Canadian companies often run buybacks through a TSX Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB), a formal program disclosed on SEDAR+, while US firms repurchase under SEC rules disclosed on EDGAR.

FAQ

Why can buyback yield be negative?

If a company issues more shares (often as stock compensation) than it repurchases, net buybacks are negative, meaning the share count is growing and existing owners are being diluted.

Are buybacks better than dividends?

Neither is inherently better. Buybacks are more flexible and can be tax-efficient, while dividends provide steady cash; the right mix depends on the company and the investor's goals.

See Buyback Yield on a real company

Open any stock in Quintarthai and explore it live across the screener and company pages.

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