Buyback calculator
How much more of Apple is yours?
Buybacks grow your stake in the company without you buying more. New shares shrink it. Enter how many shares you hold, and the calculator shows what that meant for you over the last fiscal years.
Your 100 shares stand for as much of the company today as 142.3 shares did back then.
With the same number of shares you own 42.3% more of the company than in fiscal year 2017, without buying more.
Back then means fiscal year 2017, today means fiscal year 2026. The comparison uses the average number of shares outstanding.
Shares outstanding
−29.7%
from 20.87B (2017) to 14.66B (2026)
−3.8% per year
Buybacks 2017 to 2026
$769.9B
Stock-based compensation in the same period: $89.2B
Stock-based compensation equals 12% of the buybacks.
Buyback yield (fiscal year 2026)
1.68%
$86.4B of buybacks relative to today's market value of $5.2T
In the stock calculator this change appears as the past buyback rate (3.85% per year). Keep calculating with this change
How much of the earnings per share comes from fewer shares
From fiscal year 2017 to 2026, earnings per share changed by +289.1% and earnings themselves by +173.4%. So about 40% of the increase in earnings per share comes from fewer shares alone.
Earnings per share here means net income divided by the average share count. It can differ slightly from the figure in the annual report.
That was the share count. The score shows how Apple is doing today, and the change in the share count counts there under capital allocation.
To the scoreThe score reads the same share count but compares the first fiscal year with the latest quarter (as of 26 Sept 2026). That is why it shows −30%.
Shares outstanding per fiscal year
Average over the fiscal year, adjusted for stock splits.
Buybacks and stock compensation per fiscal year
- Buybacks
- Stock-based compensation
In US dollars, from the cash flow statement.
Show year by year
| Fiscal year | Shares outstanding | vs. prior year | Buybacks | Paid in stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 20.87B | $32.9B | $4.8B | |
| 2018 | 19.82B | −5.0% | $72.7B | $5.3B |
| 2019 | 18.47B | −6.8% | $66.9B | $6.1B |
| 2020 | 17.35B | −6.1% | $72.4B | $6.8B |
| 2021 | 16.70B | −3.8% | $86.0B | $7.9B |
| 2022 | 16.22B | −2.9% | $89.4B | $9.0B |
| 2023 | 15.74B | −2.9% | $77.6B | $10.8B |
| 2024 | 15.34B | −2.5% | $94.9B | $11.7B |
| 2025 | 14.95B | −2.6% | $90.7B | $12.9B |
| 2026 | 14.66B | −1.9% | $86.4B | $13.8B |
What the calculation uses
- Shares outstanding: average over the fiscal year as the company reports it for earnings per share (basic, and diluted where that figure is missing), adjusted for stock splits
- Buybacks and stock-based compensation from the cash flow statement, in US dollars
- Buyback yield with today's market value
- Data from Financial Modeling Prep, price and market value as of 12 Nov 2026
The calculator shows what happened in the last fiscal years. It is not a forecast and not a recommendation to buy or sell this stock.
How it is calculated
- Shares outstanding are the average over the fiscal year that the company reports for earnings per share. Stock splits are adjusted for, so every year is stated in today's shares.
- Change = shares in the last fiscal year ÷ shares in the first − 1. Per year with compounding: (shares in the last ÷ shares in the first) to the power of (1 ÷ years in between) − 1.
- Your shares back then = your number of shares × shares in the first fiscal year ÷ shares in the last. For Apple over fiscal years 2016 to 2025 that is 100 × 21.88B ÷ 14.95B = 146.4.
- Buybacks and stock-based compensation are the sums of all fiscal years in the period, the first and the last included.
- Buyback yield = buybacks in the last fiscal year ÷ today's market value.
- Earnings per share = net income ÷ shares outstanding. With an unchanged share count it would have moved exactly like earnings. Share from fewer shares = (increase in earnings per share − increase in earnings) ÷ increase in earnings per share.
Assumptions and notes
- The calculator shows what happened in the available fiscal years. It does not say whether a company will keep buying back shares.
- Buybacks are the money a company spent on its own shares. How many shares disappear for it depends on the price: at high prices the same money buys fewer shares.
- Stock-based compensation pays employees in shares. That creates new shares, and part of the buybacks only offsets them. A 0 means the cash flow statement shows no separate amount; it does not necessarily mean there is none. Such years are therefore left out of the sum and of the ratio to buybacks.
- Capital increases and acquisitions paid in shares change the share count too. They are part of the change.
- The share count is an average over the year. A buyback shortly before the end of a fiscal year therefore only counts fully in the next one.
- The buyback yield uses today's market value, not the one at the end of the fiscal year. When the financial statements and the share price are in different currencies, for example with ADRs, the calculator does not show it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a share buyback?
A company buys its own shares on the stock market. If it cancels them, the company is split into fewer shares, and each remaining share stands for a slightly larger part of earnings, assets and dividends. Anyone who keeps their shares then owns more of the company without buying more.
What does dilution mean?
The opposite: the company issues new shares, for example for employees, for an acquisition or in a capital increase. Your shares then stand for a smaller part. At Tesla the share count rose by 49.1% from fiscal year 2016 to 2025. In fiscal year 2025, 100 shares therefore stood for as much as 67.1 shares had in fiscal year 2016.
How much has Apple bought back?
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025 Apple spent $713.2B on its own shares, and stock-based compensation came to $79.6B in the same period. The average share count fell by 31.7%, and in fiscal year 2025, 100 shares stood for as much of the company as 146.4 shares had in fiscal year 2016.
Why does the share count barely fall despite buybacks?
NVIDIA spent a total of $96.6B on its own shares in fiscal years 2017 to 2026, yet the share count rose by 12.6%. Part of the buybacks offsets new shares for employees; stock-based compensation came to $22.8B in the same period. On top of that, the same money buys fewer shares at high prices.
What is the buyback yield?
The buybacks of the last fiscal year divided by today's market value. It tells you what percentage of the company that money would buy at today's price. Together with the dividend yield it shows how much money a company returns to its shareholders. It is no promise that this will continue.
How much of the growth in earnings per share comes from buybacks?
Earnings per share are earnings divided by the number of shares. When the number falls, they rise even if earnings stay the same. At Apple, earnings per share rose by 258.9% from fiscal year 2016 to 2025 and earnings themselves by 145.2%. So about 44% of the increase comes from fewer shares alone.
Is a buyback a reason to buy the stock?
This calculator does not say that. It shows what happened in the last fiscal years. Whether a buyback made sense also depends on the price paid and on what else the company could have done with the money. The score shows how the company is doing overall.