Who has ensured the growth of the US stock market over the past 5 years? Fed and investment banks? Of course, however, buybacks and dividends are the main long-term driver of increasing the capitalization of companies, while over the past five years, the main buyers in the US have been the companies themselves in terms of cumulative net cash flows. Dividends and buybacks have risen to anomalous levels in recent years, exceeding $1.3 trillion for corporate America.

From 2017 to 2021, more precisely from Q4 2016 to Q3 2021 inclusive, the disposition is as follows ...

Over the last five years, dividends and buybacks amounted to 5.7 trillion for companies that form at least 90% revenue and at least 90% of capitalization from all public American companies traded on US exchanges.

From Q4 2011 to Q3 2016 the total volume was 3.93 trillion, from Q4 2007 to Q3 2011 much less – 2.5 trillion, and from Q4 2002 to Q3 2007 only 1.53 trillion. More than 60% (or more than 3.5 trillion) of the integral volume of distribution of all buybacks and divas across all companies are concentrated in the first 66 companies that spent over 20 billion dollars on shareholder policy over 5 years. The first 20 companies form almost 36% of all divas and buybacks, and the first 10 companies form about 25%! Incredible concentration..

Apple distributed a whopping 400 billion, followed by Microsoft with 167 billion, JP Morgan Chase 140 billion, Bank of America 120.5 billion, Oracle Corporation 120.5 billion, Wells Fargo & Company 116 billion, Google 100 billion, Citigroup 85 billion, Cisco Systems 80 billion, and AT&T Inc. 79 billion

The radical shift in shareholder payouts is concentrated in a small group of technology and financial companies.