One key ingredient behind the stock market's massive bull run? Buybacks. Corporate buying is on pace for a record 2025, topping the previous all-time high set just last year, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S & P Dow Jones Indices. In 2024, S & P 500 buybacks totaled $942.5 billion. Buybacks are already off to a strong start this year. In July, companies announced buybacks totaling $165.63 billion, a record for the month, according to data from Birinyi Associates. Year to date, that puts buybacks at some $926.1 billion, Birinyi Associates' data showed. "I expect the second half to increase to and set a record for 2025," Silverblatt wrote. Announced buybacks are not the same as actual purchases of stock, meaning companies still have to follow through on repurchasing

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