U.S. Non-Financial Corporate Debt and Net Share Repurchases (Buybacks) Thanks to low interest rates, U.S. companies are increasingly using debt to buy back shares. Image: BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research
U.S. Corporate Debt Maturity Wall This chart shows the massive wave of maturities faced by investment-grade and speculative-grade U.S. companies in coming years. Image: Oxford Economics
S&P 500 vs. IPO Performance The chart shows how IPOs have performed since 2015. Currently, investors seem reluctant to invest in high-risk, high-growth companies. Image: Richardson Wealth
S&P 500 Employees Why S&P 500 companies aren’t so American? A large portion of S&P 500 employees works abroad. Image: Deutsche Bank Global Research
Cumulative S&P 500 Buybacks 2009-2019 Are buybacks driving the show? Thanks to tax cuts and low interest rates, corporate stock buybacks are booming. Over the past decade, S&P 500 companies bought back $5 trillion shares, while cumulative flows from households and foreigners are only a drop in the bucket. But what would happend if companies reinvested instead…
S&P 500 Cash Spending According to Goldman Sachs, cash spending by S&P 500 companies is likely to fall by 6% in 2019, the largest year-over-year decline since 2009. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Shareholder Return vs. Free Cash Flow Thanks to low interest rates, shareholder return has exceeded free cash flow levels again. U.S. companies cannot spend more than they earn indefinitely. Image: Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research
Dividends and Buybacks vs. Free Cash Flow Dividends and buybacks have exceeded free cash flow levels again, thanks to low interest rates. But companies cannot spend more than they earn forever. Image: Capital Group
U.S. Market Shares in China U.S. companies are clearly losing market share in key sectors in China, while President Trump wants American companies to leave China. Image: Oxford Economics
S&P 500 Earnings and U.S. Capital Spending This chart shows that U.S. core capital spending is near a 20-year high. Are fears that U.S. companies may be curtailing spending plans overblown? The absence of dividend cuts also suggests that U.S. companies are confident in their future earnings potential. Image: The Leuthold Group