Report by Consejeros Editorial Team
The treasury shares held by IBEX 35® companies fell in 2025 for the second consecutive year, reaching a five-year low. This is according to the latest report compiled by BME’s Research Department, which notes that the trend observed in previous financial years—of high levels of share buybacks followed by share cancellations—has continued. This is a strategy companies employ as a form of shareholder remuneration, although the capital reduction carried out was less significant than in other years.
At the end of last year, IBEX 35® companies held 545 million treasury shares on their balance sheets, representing a 5.6% fall compared with 2024. However, the rise in the Spanish stock market last year – which saw it lead the way amongst the major Western stock exchanges – caused the value of treasury shares to soar by 32.7% to €9,489 million. The aggregate treasury shares of the 35 companies in the index remained stable at around 0.9% of their market capitalisation.
Of the 34 companies in the IBEX 35® holding treasury shares at the end of 2025 (Aena had no treasury shares on its balance sheet), thirteen increased their holdings, eight reduced them and a further thirteen left them unchanged or made only marginal changes. Naturgy was the company with the highest proportion of treasury shares relative to its total market capitalisation, at 4.46 per cent. It was followed by ACS (4.39%), Amadeus (4.35%), IAG (3.43%) and Puig (3.03%).
The main reason for the second consecutive year of decline in the level of treasury shares held by companies in the Spanish index is the buyback of shares and their subsequent cancellation. Following the record set in 2024, the market value of shares cancelled by IBEX 35® companies stood at €11,937 million at the end of last year, representing a fall of 22.3 per cent. Nevertheless, it remains at historically high levels.
In 2025, the financial sector remained the key player, as listed financial institutions spent nearly €6,100 million on buy-backs under programmes announced and implemented throughout the year (18.2 per cent more than in 2024) and accounted for around 46 per cent of the market capitalisation of the shares cancelled by IBEX 35® companies. This was followed by the oil and energy sector, with €3,930 million in share buy-backs, accounting for 32.9% of the total.
These figures confirm that share buy-backs have gained prominence in recent years as a means of shareholder remuneration. Between January 2022 and December 2025, shares worth €54,337 million were cancelled on the Spanish stock exchange, well above the cumulative volume over the previous ten years (32,000 million).
Share buy-backs and subsequent cancellation generate returns in two ways. Whilst the shares remain in the company’s own portfolio, they do not receive dividends; consequently, the amount distributed is spread across a smaller number of shares, thereby increasing the return per share for shareholders who retain their stake. Furthermore, if the shares are cancelled, the reduction in the number of shares in circulation can help improve metrics such as earnings per share, provided that operational performance is favourable.
Nevertheless, cash dividends remain the preferred method for listed companies to remunerate their shareholders. In 2025, they distributed €41,503 million, 10.7 per cent more than in 2024 and the second-highest figure on record.
