New Grist in Tax-Cut Debate Is $800 Billion Buyback Estimate
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Flush with cash from President Donald Trump’s tax overhaul and bathing in more earnings than they know what to do with, U.S. companies are embarking on a buyback binge of historic dimension.
How big will it be? JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategists led by Dubravko Lakos-Bujas estimate that gross share repurchases will reach a record of around $800 billion this year, up from $530 billion in 2017. Just under half is attributable to improving profit growth, lower corporate levies and the repatriation of overseas cash under Trump’s program.