Here’s the translation to American English:
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The number of treasury shares on the balance sheets of companies listed on the IBEX 35 has decreased by 34% during 2024, totaling 579 million shares, marking the lowest figure in the last five years. This reduction is attributed to the historic increase in stock buybacks that companies are implementing as a strategy to reward their shareholders and optimize their financial structure, according to the latest report from BME’s Research Service.
Despite the decline in the number of treasury shares, their market value has grown by 8.9% due to the appreciation of the IBEX 35, reaching a total of 7.237 billion euros, which represents approximately 1% of the index’s total market capitalization. Among the companies with the highest proportion of treasury shares are ArcelorMittal, with 9.8% of its capital in its own shares, followed by ACS and Amadeus, with 6.2% and 3.1%, respectively.
Share buybacks have reached record figures, totaling 15.359 billion euros last year, a 20.4% increase compared to 2023. The banking sector has been a key player in this trend, having invested 5.458 billion euros in share buybacks, a 25% increase compared to the previous year.
This method of shareholder remuneration has gained popularity on the Spanish Stock Exchange since 2021. Between January 2022 and June 2025, share buybacks worth nearly 47.338 billion euros have been executed, surpassing the approximately 32 billion euros from the previous ten-year period.
However, despite the surge in share buybacks, dividend distribution remains the preferred method of remuneration for companies in the first half of 2025, reaching a total of 21.280 billion euros, representing an 8.9% increase compared to the same period last year.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
