Tech giants are sacrificing share buybacks to invest capital into AI:
The total amount spent on share buybacks by Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Oracle (ORCL) has plummeted to $12.6 billion in Q4 2025, the lowest since Q1 2018. Share buybacks have decreased by -74% from the peak of approximately $48 billion in 2021. Amazon has not repurchased any shares since Q2 2022, redirecting capital into AI infrastructure. Meta reduced its share buybacks to $3.3 billion in Q3 and Q4 2025, down from $33.5 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, Alphabet cut its share buybacks to $17 billion, nearly half of the $30.6 billion spent in the same period in 2024. New capital investment is the most important thing.
View Original
This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.
Tech giants are sacrificing share buybacks to invest capital into AI:
The total amount spent on share buybacks by Amazon (AMZN), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Meta (META), and Oracle (ORCL) has plummeted to $12.6 billion in Q4 2025, the lowest since Q1 2018.
Share buybacks have decreased by -74% from the peak of approximately $48 billion in 2021.
Amazon has not repurchased any shares since Q2 2022, redirecting capital into AI infrastructure.
Meta reduced its share buybacks to $3.3 billion in Q3 and Q4 2025, down from $33.5 billion in 2021.
Meanwhile, Alphabet cut its share buybacks to $17 billion, nearly half of the $30.6 billion spent in the same period in 2024.
New capital investment is the most important thing.