Who Reports Today · Stock screener
S&P 500 companies shrinking their share count
44 of 497 companies (US (S&P 500)) pass; 82 lack the data.*
Buybacks only help shareholders if the share count actually falls — not if they just offset stock-based pay. This list needs a 5%+ drop in diluted shares over three years, stock-based compensation under 5% of revenue, and buybacks plus dividends paid out of free cash flow rather than new debt.
Condition: Share count down 5%+ in 3 years; Stock-based compensation ≤ 5% of revenue; Buybacks + dividends covered by free cash flow. Weighted diluted share count in the latest year ÷ three years earlier − 1 (split-adjusted). “Not growing” — at most +2% over 3 years. Stock-based compensation in the latest year ÷ revenue. 3-year buybacks + dividends ≤ 3-year free cash flow.
First 10 alphabetically
| Company | Share count down 5%+ in 3 years |
|---|---|
| Agilent Technologies, Inc.A · Health Care · FY2025 | -5% over 3 years |
| Applied Materials, Inc.AMAT · Information Technology · FY2025 | -7.9% over 3 years |
| AT&T Inc.T · Communication Services · FY2025 | -5.4% over 3 years |
| Caterpillar Inc.CAT · Industrials · FY2025 | -11% over 3 years |
| Cognizant Technology Solutions CorporationCTSH · Information Technology · FY2025 | -5.8% over 3 years |
| Comcast CorporationCMCSA · Communication Services · FY2025 | -16.3% over 3 years |
| Deere & CompanyDE · Industrials · FY2025 | -11.3% over 3 years |
| Dell Technologies Inc.DELL · Information Technology · FY2026 | -9.2% over 3 years |
| Elevance Health, Inc.ELV · Health Care · FY2025 | -7.5% over 3 years |
| FedEx CorporationFDX · Industrials · FY2026 | -6.6% over 3 years |
34 more in the full screener table: every company, sorting, “why it failed” and any other conditions.
Open in the screener — the full table is part of Plus
By sector
- Industrials — 11
- Consumer Discretionary — 9
- Health Care — 9
- Information Technology — 7
- Communication Services — 3
- Financials — 2
- Consumer Staples — 1
- Materials — 1
- Utilities — 1
Other lists
- S&P 500 companies with revenue growth 10 years in a row
- S&P 500 companies with no net debt
- S&P 500 companies that paid dividends 10 years without a gap
- Piotroski F-score: S&P 500 companies scoring 8 or 9
- Canadian companies with dividends 10 years without a gap
- The stock screener: every filter and set
Data: annual company filings, updated 2026-10-16. No prices or multiples are used.
* Not investment advice. The screener lists companies that formally meet the conditions you choose, based on published reports; it does not consider your goals, horizon or risk tolerance and does not say whether to buy or sell.
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For information only — not investment, legal or tax advice and not a personal recommendation. You choose the criteria and thresholds; we don't know your financial situation and don't pick securities for you.
The ready-made sets are ours, built on published screening criteria — not picks by, or affiliated with, the authors of those ideas, not a ranking and not a promise of returns. Rows are alphabetical or sorted by the column you choose; the screener doesn't name “best” companies.
Data come from company filings (SEC EDGAR) and may contain errors or be out of date — check the original filing before any decision. Past results do not guarantee future results. No prices, market values or multiples are used.