Buyback yield: what it means and how to read it

What is Buyback yield?

Money spent buying back shares in a year ÷ market cap.

A company worth ₹10,000 Cr that spends ₹300 Cr buying its own shares has a buyback yield of 3%. Add the dividend yield to see the cash returned.

Buybacks return cash and increase each remaining owner's slice.

Higher returns more cash, as long as the price paid was sensible.

Higher is usually better.

The median across the 16 listed companies that report it, as of 12 Oct 2026. Half sit above each figure and half below.

Median

Large Cap · 1 companies2.3%

Small Cap · 15 companies3.3%

Dividends, buybacks and how much the company reinvests.

6 lessons

How fast the dividend per share grew each year, on average, over 5 years.

Dividends, buybacks and debt repaid in a year, as a share of market cap.

The share of profit paid out as dividends, averaged over 5 years.

Capital spending ÷ depreciation. Above 1 means the company spends more than the wear and tear on its assets, so it's investing to grow.

Capital spending as a share of EBITDA: how much operating profit goes back into the business.