Capital Allocation
Buyback Yield
Year-over-year percentage change in shares outstanding (negative = buybacks).
Definition
Buyback yield measures how aggressively the company is repurchasing its own shares — the per-share equivalent of a dividend without the tax friction.
Formula
−(Shares this period − Shares prior period) ÷ Shares prior period × 100
Why it matters
Buybacks plus dividends equal total shareholder yield, the truest measure of capital return to shareholders. Buybacks done at low valuations create per-share value; done at peak valuations they destroy it. Watch for the pattern.
How Standard Equity uses it
Shown in the main financial table. A negative buyback yield (i.e., share count growing) flags dilution from stock-based compensation or issuance. Where the estimate columns carry the share count flat, the estimated buyback yield is not a forecast of buybacks and is marked ○.
The metric
| Category | Capital Allocation |
|---|---|
| Unit | % |