Apple’s capital return program is the largest in U.S. corporate history by cumulative dollars, and its latest quarterly filing offers a current look at the pace. The company’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 27, 2026 (fiscal third quarter) lays out repurchases, dividends and cash flow in detail. This article walks through those figures and puts them in context.
What the 10-Q reports
Note 7 of the filing states that Apple repurchased 215 million shares of its common stock for $61.8 billion during the first nine months of fiscal 2026, the period from September 28, 2025 to June 27, 2026. For the fiscal third quarter alone, the statement of shareholders’ equity shows common stock repurchased of about $25.9 billion.
The filing presents the nine-month total in several ways, which explains small differences between figures:
- Note 7 narrative: $61.8 billion for 215 million shares.
- Statement of shareholders’ equity: about $62.2 billion of common stock repurchased.
- Cash flow statement: about $62.1 billion in payments for repurchases.
Differences among these measures typically reflect timing and accounting classification, so any single headline number should be read with the measurement basis in mind.
Dividends and the full capital return
The quarterly dividend declared was $0.27 per share, totaling about $4.0 billion for the quarter and about $11.7 billion for the nine months. Dividend payments in the cash flow statement were about $11.8 billion. Combining cash repurchases and dividend payments gives roughly $73.9 billion returned to shareholders in nine months, a figure derived from the filing’s cash flow statement.
How it compares with cash generation
Apple reported about $117.0 billion in cash from operating activities over the nine months. Buybacks plus dividends of roughly $73.9 billion therefore equal about 63% of operating cash flow. Financing activities used about $94.6 billion in total, which includes items beyond repurchases and dividends, such as debt repayments and taxes paid related to equity awards. Investing activities used about $18.8 billion, and cash and restricted cash rose by about $3.6 billion to roughly $39.5 billion.
| Nine months ended June 27, 2026 | Approximate amount |
|---|---|
| Cash from operations | $117.0 billion |
| Share repurchase payments | $62.1 billion |
| Dividend payments | $11.8 billion |
| Net cash used in financing | $94.6 billion |
The authorization
Market reports state that Apple’s board approved a new $100 billion repurchase authorization alongside its fiscal second-quarter results on April 30, 2026, and raised the quarterly dividend about 4% to $0.27. That detail comes from secondary coverage rather than from the portions of the 10-Q reviewed for this article, and the remaining capacity under the program was not available in the reviewed sources. Investors tracking the program can find the current authorization in the company’s filings.
Reading the share count
Apple reported 14,594,180,000 shares outstanding as of July 17, 2026, according to the 10-Q cover page. The 215 million shares repurchased in nine months equal roughly 1.5% of that count, a rough comparison since shares are also issued to employees under equity plans and the denominator changes over time. The implied average repurchase price, dividing $61.8 billion by 215 million shares, is about $287 per share, another derived figure.
Diluted earnings per share were $2.02 for the quarter and $6.88 for the nine months. Because Apple’s share count is so large, each 1% reduction requires well over $40 billion at the implied average price, which is why repurchase dollars appear enormous while the percentage change in shares appears modest.
Why the pace matters to analysts
Several features make Apple’s program a reference point for the broader buyback market:
- Scale: tens of billions of dollars per quarter are large enough to influence aggregate S&P 500 repurchase totals.
- Consistency: reports describe a program that has run for years, with cumulative cash returned reported above $1 trillion, of which more than $850 billion was repurchases, per the same secondary coverage.
- Funding: the nine-month cash flow figures above show operating cash flow of about $117.0 billion against about $73.9 billion in buybacks and dividends.
Quarterly repurchase dollars can vary considerably. The $25.9 billion in the fiscal third quarter is a large share of the nine-month total of about $62 billion, which shows that a program with a headline authorization does not buy at an even pace. Investors comparing quarters should use the filing’s own tables rather than assume a straight-line schedule.
What to watch next
The next data point is Apple’s fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year report, which will provide the annual repurchase total for fiscal 2026. Secondary coverage cites fiscal 2025 repurchases of about $90.7 billion as a comparison point. The company’s year-end filing will also update shares outstanding and the remaining authorization.
This article is informational, not investment advice.
Sources: Apple Inc. Form 10-Q (SEC EDGAR), 24/7 Wall St.