Big Tech Stock Buybacks Plunge 90% to Their Lowest Level Since 2017

Combined stock buybacks by Alphabet ($GOOGL), Amazon ($AMZN), Microsoft ($MSFT), Meta ($META), and Oracle ($ORCL) fell to just $4.4 billion in Q3 2026, the lowest quarterly level since Q3 2017.
Repurchases have plunged 90% from their peak of approximately $45.9 billion in Q4 2021. This also marks the third consecutive quarter in which combined buybacks remained below $5 billion.
Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle have not repurchased any of their own shares in 2026. By comparison, combined buybacks by these Big Tech companies reached $33 billion in Q1 2026.
The decline comes as massive AI investments increasingly compete with shareholder returns, putting pressure on one of Big Tech's major sources of stock demand.