Apple announces over $200 billion in buybacks in May

According to Birinyi Associates, US listed companies announced $201 billion in share repurchase plans in May, representing a year-over-year increase of over 41% and setting a new record for the month, ranking as the fifth-highest on record.

At the beginning of May, Apple officially announced a $110 billion share buyback plan during its first-quarter earnings call, accounting for more than half of the total share repurchase plans announced by US equities.

Analysts believe that the large-scale share repurchase plans may help support the underperforming US equities since the end of March. The increase in share repurchase plans is not only a validation of the company's future growth potential but also a positive signal of market confidence, potentially attracting more investors to participate in the market, thereby driving the recovery and growth of the stock market.

Jeff Rubin, the research director at Birinyi Associates, stated in an email to the media that this is a "clear signal of US companies' confidence in their cash flow generation capabilities."

From January to May this year, the total number of share repurchase plans announced by US companies ranked second among all five-month periods in history, and the participation in share repurchase activities this year has also reached a new level, with the number of companies announcing repurchases being the second-highest on record.