Announced repurchase authorisations are down sharply year over year, and, more informative, executed buybacks have fallen faster than announcements. Authorisations are free. Execution is a cash decision.
Boards facing a higher cost of debt and a refinancing wall in the next two years are choosing flexibility over per-share optics. That is defensible corporate finance and unhelpful market technicals.
Buybacks are the only bid that does not care what the price is. Losing it changes the shape of a drawdown.
The flow matters more than the fundamentals here. Repurchases have been the largest structural net demand for US equities for a decade, and they are price-insensitive by construction.
