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Sunday’s Bonus Article

3 Massive Buybacks That Map the Market’s Mood in 2026

By Leo Miller. Posted: 2/9/2026. 

What You Need to Know

• After an epic run in 2025 and a great start to 2026, Western Digital is adding substantial buyback capacity.
• PepsiCo is making key changes to its business and supporting its outlook with a new $10 billion share repurchase program.
• As markets have hit ServiceNow shares hard, the company plans to take advantage of the weakness through a large accelerated repurchase plan.

Some of the biggest stocks in the technology and consumer staples sectors are kicking off 2026 with notable buyback announcements. That list includes Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC), one of the market’s best-performing names of 2025.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) is also expanding its buyback capacity as the company works to improve its cost structure and rekindle consumer interest.

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Lastly, software giant ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW)has seen its stock price take a severe hit in recent months. But with solid business fundamentals, the company is signaling confidence through its latest buyback announcement.

Western Digital Announces $4 Billion Buyback Program After Monstrous Gains

Buoyed by shortages in the memory-chip market, shares of hard-disk drive maker Western Digital have surged. The stock delivered a total return of 284% in 2025, making Western Digital the best-performing S&P 500 name that year. In 2026, WDC has continued its run, rising more than 60% so far.

On Feb. 3, the company reinforced that confidence by announcing a $4 billion share buyback program. That supplements the roughly $484 million still available under its previous authorization. In total, the company now has about $4.484 billion in buyback capacity, equal to roughly 4.1% of its $96 billion market capitalization.

Western Digital’s shares outstanding fell by around 2% in 2025. The new buyback program—twice the size of the prior $2 billion authorization—suggests the company could continue to reduce its share count.

In its latest earnings call, WDC said it has already booked demand from its seven largest customers for 2026 and has commercial agreements with three of its top five customers for 2027. That tight supply-and-demand backdrop supports WDC’s near-term outlook.

Pepsi’s Refresh Comes With Strong Buyback Capacity on Its Side

PepsiCo has started 2026 strongly, up nearly 19%. The consumer staples sector overall has also benefited early in the year. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEARCA: XLP), a proxy for the sector, has delivered a total return of 13%.

Pepsi’s latest earnings were solid, and management highlighted key initiatives. Those include early efforts to streamline distribution, which management called “very positive,” a refocus of its snack portfolio on top brands, and moves to attract consumers seeking healthier and more affordable options.

Pepsi also authorized a new $10 billion share buyback program, equal to about 4.3% of its roughly $233 billion market capitalization.

After a relatively flat share count from 2021 to 2024, Pepsi reduced its shares outstanding by about 1.5% in 2025. With a large buyback authorization, a solid 3.3% dividend yield, and early signs of business improvement, Pepsi’s outlook appears constructive.

ServiceNow Plans Swift Buyback Action as Shares Tank

Over the past three months, few large-cap stocks have taken a bigger hit than ServiceNow. Shares are down more than 40%, placing ServiceNow among the worst performers in the S&P 500 for the period. Concerns that emerging artificial intelligence tools will disrupt established software vendors have been a primary driver of the decline.

Despite the share-price weakness, ServiceNow reported solid results in its latest earnings report, beating estimates on revenue and adjusted EPS. While it expects a modest growth slowdown in 2026, the company also projects operating margin and free cash flow margin to rise by 100 basis points.

Amid the share-price drop, ServiceNow announced a $5 billion buyback program, adding to about $1.4 billion of remaining capacity. The combined $6.4 billion equals roughly 6.1% of its $105 billion market capitalization.

Notably, ServiceNow plans to use $2 billion of that capacity for an accelerated share repurchase (ASR). The ASR will allow the company to rapidly repurchase stock and take advantage of the lower price — a clear signal of management’s confidence.

Analysts Remain Steadfast Despite NOW’s Slide

Of the three companies discussed here, ServiceNow is the most intriguing. Its underlying financials remain strong, and Wall Street analysts continue to back the stock. The MarketBeat consensus price target near $193 implies roughly 91% upside. The average of targets updated after NOW’s Jan. 28 earnings report is slightly lower, near $182, which still suggests about 81% potential upside.

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