2 Stocks Dominating With Aggressive Buybacks: Apple and NVIDIA Lead the Charge

In a market increasingly defined by volatility and uncertainty, companies are turning to share buybacks as a tool to stabilize valuations, boost earnings per share (EPS), and signal confidence. Among the S&P 500’s top performers in 2025, two stocks—Apple (AAPL) and NVIDIA (NVDA)—stand out for their aggressive buyback programs and the tangible impact on their stock prices. Let’s dissect why these companies are crushing it with share repurchases and what investors should watch next.

Apple: The Buyback Giant with a Near-$3 Trillion Valuation

Apple’s buyback program has been a cornerstone of its shareholder strategy for over a decade. In 2025 alone, Apple spent $23.6 billion in Q1, maintaining an average daily repurchase rate of $350–$400 million. This relentless pace has reduced outstanding shares by ~2.5% in 2024, with expectations of 3–4% in 2025. The result? A stock near all-time highs, a market cap exceeding $3 trillion, and an EPS boost that has outpaced earnings growth.

Why It Works:
- Valuation Support: Buybacks offset dilution from employee stock grants and keep shares scarce, a critical factor in maintaining Apple’s premium valuation (30x forward earnings, despite modest near-term sales growth of 4% in 2025).
- Strategic Confidence: Apple’s buybacks coincide with its dominance in high-margin segments like services (Apple Music, iCloud) and emerging markets like AI-driven hardware (Vision Pro).

NVIDIA: The AI Buyback Champion

NVIDIA’s buybacks are less about valuation defense and more about capitalizing on explosive growth in AI infrastructure. In Q4 2024, the company spent $9.7 billion on repurchases, a slowdown from earlier quarters but still among the highest in the tech sector. The strategy has paid off: NVIDIA’s stock surged 74.5% in 2024, though 2025 has seen a pullback to 26.4x forward earnings—a discount to its 10-year median of 45.1x.

Why It Works:
- AI-Driven Cash Flow: NVIDIA’s data center revenue hit $35.6 billion in Q4 2025, fueled by its Blackwell supercomputers and partnerships with cloud giants like Microsoft and AWS. This segment now accounts for 90% of its profit, justifying its buybacks despite a 22% YoY decline in gaming revenue.
- Long-Term Growth: Analysts project 25.7% annual EPS growth over the next five years, driven by AI adoption in industries like healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and enterprise computing.

The Buyback Effect: More Than Just a Numbers Game

While both Apple and NVIDIA are using buybacks to reduce shares and boost EPS, their strategies reflect different priorities:
1. Apple: A defensive play to maintain its valuation in a mature smartphone market.
2. NVIDIA: An offensive move to capitalize on a structural shift to AI, where its GPU leadership is irreplaceable.

The data underscores this divide:
- Apple’s buybacks have reduced shares outstanding by ~2.5% annually, directly lifting EPS by ~2% each year.
- NVIDIA’s buybacks, while costly, are dwarfed by its $43.2 billion cash hoard, enabling it to invest in R&D while returning capital to shareholders.

Risks and Considerations

No strategy is without risks. For Apple, a slowdown in services growth or trade-related disruptions (e.g., tariffs on Chinese manufacturing) could pressure margins. NVIDIA, meanwhile, faces competitive threats from AMD’s new AI chips and potential regulatory scrutiny over its market dominance.

Conclusion: Buybacks as a Signal of Strength

Both Apple and NVIDIA exemplify how buybacks can be a powerful tool for companies with cash flow discipline and long-term vision. Apple’s stock, despite a modest growth outlook, remains a stable bet at 30x earnings, while NVIDIA’s valuation reset presents a high-risk, high-reward opportunity for investors willing to bet on AI’s future.

The numbers don’t lie:
- Apple’s 13.8% EPS growth over the next three years, paired with its fortress balance sheet, makes it a core holding for conservative portfolios.
- NVIDIA’s 25.7% EPS growth, despite current volatility, positions it as a growth catalyst for tech investors.

In a market hungry for certainty, these two stocks are delivering it—through buybacks and beyond.