FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – Following three robust years on the stock market, the DAX is facing pressure in 2026, yet the titans of the German economy are pushing back against the downward trend. According to calculations by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, these companies have launched programs to repurchase their own shares for a record-breaking 54.6 billion euros. This year alone, shares worth 26 billion euros are expected to be withdrawn from the market.

The data shows that 23 of the 40 DAX-listed companies – more than half of the blue-chip index – are currently acquiring their own shares or intend to do so in the coming months. Sixteen of them plan to spend one billion euros or more, led by DHL Group, Siemens, and Siemens Energy at six billion euros each, and SAP with a ten-billion-euro mandate.

Share buybacks are a favored tool for companies to support their stock price and return capital to shareholders alongside dividends. These programs reduce the supply of outstanding shares. Consequently, future earnings and dividends are distributed across fewer shares, which typically bolsters the share price.

Strategic price support or short-sighted optimization?

“The extensive share buyback programs, combined with persistently high dividends, provide a vital foundation for the DAX to remain a promising investment despite difficult geopolitical conditions,” Commerzbank analyst Andreas Hürkamp told “Handelsblatt”.

However, some experts view buybacks critically, as they divert substantial funds away from capital expenditure. Furthermore, buybacks reduce corporate liquidity, which could soon be required given the disruptions caused by the conflict in Iran and the threat of declining earnings.

The buyback boom is being driven by trends in New York, according to “Handelsblatt”. The report identifies Apple as the world’s largest buyer of its own stock. The iPhone specialist spent 96.7 billion dollars on share repurchases over the past four quarters. Since 2013, when Apple first began large-scale buybacks, its total share count has been reduced by 44 percent, according to Handelsblatt calculations./als/DP/stw