U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS) is forecasting $1 trillion U.S. of stock buybacks in 2025, the most in the past five years.
Goldman Sachs analyst Scott Rubner says equity markets could get a boost in coming months following a corporate share repurchase window that’s scheduled to open on Jan. 24.
Nearly half (45%) of all companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index are expected to participate in the coming share repurchases, a development that could benefit U.S. markets.
Rubner is forecasting that companies listed in the U.S. will spend $1.07 trillion U.S. buying back their own stock this year.
Such a big share repurchase would help to push stock prices higher in the near-term and alleviate some of the current volatility in equity markets.
However, Rubner also notes that investors have poured $143 billion U.S. into money market funds since the start of the year, the largest allocation since March 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
Such a big flow into cash is usually a sign of expected market turbulence. However, Rubner urges investors to be ready to jump into stocks when they rise in coming months.
Goldman Sachs’ stock has risen 63% over the last 12 months to trade at $612.99 U.S. per share.
