A sharp drop in buybacks
According to a Reuters analysis of LSEG data and company reports, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and Oracle returned only 9.3% of the cash their businesses generated to shareholders through buybacks in the first nine months of 2026. A year earlier that share was 27.4%. The analysis describes it as the smallest share in at least 15 years.
Where the cash is going
The decline in buybacks coincides with a rapid rise in spending on AI infrastructure. Budgets for data centres, chips and compute capacity are absorbing a large share of free cash, leaving less available to return to shareholders.
What it means for investors
Buybacks have long been one of the tools Big Tech has used to support its share prices. A smaller buyback line may push investors to value these companies more on growth expectations alone. The analysis puts a concrete figure on the pressure AI spending is placing on balance sheets.
Limited data, clear trend
The figures cover the first nine months for five companies. The analysis does not break down company by company how much the spending increase curbed buybacks, but the trend shows AI investment is pushing cash distribution down the priority list.
