I remind readers of this whenever the opportunity presents itself: The biggest source of demand for US corporate equities is corporations themselves.

Suffice to say the C-suite loves its own cookin.’ That dietary preference among executives turns out to be conducive to their own financial well-being. Imagine that.

Buybacks are obviously great if you’re a shareholder. Wait, let me back up. They’re great for boosting near-term equity performance. Whether they constitute the best use of corporate cash at any given time and relatedly, whether they represent foregone opportunities to invest in the business, can be another matter.

I often refer to buybacks as “real-life plunge protection.” This is a massive, consistent bid under equities and although opinions vary regarding how much credit should be afforded to buybacks when it comes to explaining stock buoyancy at any given time, it certainly doesn’t hurt when corporates have their thumb on the scale.

Earlier this summer, I mentioned that authorizations were running at a record rate. Nomura’s Charlie McElligott, in a characteristically insightful observation, noted in June that trade uncertainty might’ve actually helped stocks once the initial “Liberation Day” volatility subsided by encouraging buybacks.

“The single-most consequential flow from Trump trade policy shocks is the perverse dynamic where corporate uncertainty, perceived as a spending and investment downside catalyst, has instead led to an equities-bullish flow via massive share repurchase authorizations,” McElligott said, a few months back.

Fast forward to Labor Day and guess what? Announced buybacks have already exceeded $1 trillion for the year. As Birinyi Associates noted, 2025’s the fastest year to $1 trillion in authorizations on record.

The figure above gives you a sense of things. Announced buybacks have already exceeded all but five years looking back two decades. And it’s just August.

“$1.1 trillion over 251 trading days equals $4.4 billion per day in equity demand,” Citadel’s Scott Rubner said, citing the same data and adding that August is “historically one of the best months of the year for executions” ahead of the next earnings blackout period midway through September.

For the year, Birinyi sees $1.3 trillion in announced buybacks and a record $1.2 trillion in executions. Jeffrey Yale Rubin, the firm’s president, said with good earnings, companies “have enough money” to fund capex with plenty left over to “reward investors.”

In remarks quoted Wednesday by Bloomberg, Rubin called corporates “the ultimate dip-buyer.”