List
Biggest cash returns
Some companies return a lot of cash through buybacks rather than dividends. Shareholder yield counts both, showing who hands back the most to owners.
24 companies
from 73 large US companies| Company | Why it's here | Size | Quality | Health | Return on capital | Growth | vs usual price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMCSA Comcast | 15.2% shareholder yield · dividend 2.7% | $79bn | 4/7 | 7 | 8.6% | 5.2% | -55% |
| ADBE Adobe | 11.0% shareholder yield | $103bn | 6/7 | 7 | 45.9% | 17.4% | – |
| WFC Wells Fargo | 9.2% shareholder yield · dividend 2.3% | $250bn | 1/2 | 3 | – | – | – |
| T AT&T | 8.9% shareholder yield · dividend 6.8% | $142bn | 1/7 | 6 | 5.3% | -1.5% | +4% |
| INTU Intuit | 7.4% shareholder yield · dividend 0.6% | $91bn | 5/7 | 7 | 14.9% | 16.4% | – |
| CRM Salesforce | 7.0% shareholder yield · dividend 0.7% | $204bn | 3/6 | 7 | 6.1% | 20.1% | – |
| GS Goldman Sachs | 6.8% shareholder yield · dividend 3.2% | $258bn | 2/3 | 4 | – | – | – |
| MO Altria | 6.5% shareholder yield · dividend 9.5% | $123bn | 3/6 | 6 | 43.6% | -0.9% | – |
| VZ Verizon | 6.3% shareholder yield · dividend 7.1% | $182bn | 1/7 | 5 | 9.2% | 0.5% | -18% |
| BAC Bank of America | 6.1% shareholder yield · dividend 3.2% | $353bn | 2/3 | 5 | – | 3.1% | – |
| MDLZ Mondelez | 6.0% shareholder yield · dividend 2.4% | $81bn | 2/7 | 5 | 8.1% | 2.7% | – |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase | 5.4% shareholder yield · dividend 2.7% | $890bn | 3/3 | 3 | – | 6.9% | – |
| UBER Uber | 4.9% shareholder yield | $134bn | 2/6 | 5 | 1.5% | 26.5% | – |
| PEP PepsiCo | 4.7% shareholder yield · dividend 3.0% | $184bn | 5/7 | 5 | 17.9% | 4.1% | – |
| QCOM Qualcomm | 4.6% shareholder yield · dividend 2.5% | $193bn | 5/7 | 6 | 42.0% | 5.8% | – |
| NKE Nike | 4.5% shareholder yield · dividend 1.4% | $56bn | 2/4 | 5 | – | 3.7% | – |
| PG Procter & Gamble | 4.1% shareholder yield · dividend 2.5% | $369bn | 5/7 | 6 | 21.7% | 2.9% | – |
| MCD McDonald's | 4.0% shareholder yield · dividend 2.4% | $177bn | 4/7 | 5 | 23.4% | 0.6% | – |
| AXP American Express | 3.8% shareholder yield · dividend 1.5% | $212bn | 2/2 | 4 | – | – | – |
| MRK Merck | 3.7% shareholder yield · dividend 2.9% | $358bn | 3/3 | 4 | – | – | – |
| UNH UnitedHealth | 3.6% shareholder yield · dividend 1.4% | $370bn | 7/7 | 7 | 17.5% | 11.0% | – |
| TGT Target | 3.6% shareholder yield · dividend 3.3% | $68bn | 5/6 | 6 | 23.9% | 3.4% | – |
| NFLX Netflix | 3.5% shareholder yield | $262bn | 4/7 | 7 | 25.1% | 20.9% | – |
| V Visa | 3.0% shareholder yield · dividend 0.8% | $757bn | 4/5 | 5 | 37.9% | 11.2% | – |
The rules
Dividends plus buybacks over the last year as a % of today's market value, at least 3%. Sorted from highest.
Keep in mind: High buybacks are only good value when the shares aren't expensive, and some companies borrow to fund them. Being on a list is not a recommendation.
Other lists: Dividend growers · Quality compounders · Cheaper than usual · Cash-rich fortresses