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

Key Points

• 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. This includes Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC, one of the market’s best-performing names of 2025.

PepsiCo NASDAQ: PEP is also boosting its buyback capacity as the firm looks to improve its cost structure and generate renewed interest from consumers.

Lastly, software giant ServiceNow NYSE: NOW has seen its stock price get absolutely crushed over recent months. However, with its business fundamentals still strong, the company is signaling confidence through its latest buyback announcement.

Western Digital Announces $4 Billion Buyback Program After Monstrous Gains

Driven by shortages in the memory chip market, shares of hard-disk drive maker Western Digital have gone parabolic. The stock delivered a total return of 284% in 2025, making Western Digital the best-performing name in the S&P 500 Index. In 2026, WDC has not slowed down, already up more than 60%.

On Feb. 3, the company signaled further confidence in its path forward, announcing a $4 billion share buyback program. This adds on to the $484 million in remaining buyback capacity the company had under its previous authorization. Overall, the firm’s $4.484 billion in buyback capacity is equal to approximately 4.1% of its $96 billion market capitalization.

Western Digital’s shares outstanding fell by around 2% in 2025. The company’s new buyback program suggests that this can continue, being twice as large as its previous $2 billion buyback authorization.

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

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

PepsiCo has performed strongly in 2026, up nearly 19%. The consumer staples sector as a whole has been a huge winner early in the year. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund NYSEARCA: XLP, a proxy for the sector’s performance, has delivered a total return of 13%.

Pepsi’s latest earnings were solid, and the firm shed light on key issues. This included Pepsi’s early efforts to streamline its distribution, which management noted has led to “very positive” results. Pepsi is also re-centering its snack portfolio on top brands and making moves to attract consumers seeking healthier and more affordable products.

Additionally, Pepsi has announced the authorization of a new $10 billion share buyback program. This is equal to a significant 4.3% of the company’s approximately $233 billion market capitalization.

After its outstanding share count remained relatively flat from 2021 to 2024, Pepsi made headway on this front in 2025. Its shares outstanding dropped by approximately 1.5% on the year. With a large buyback chest, a solid 3.3% dividend yield, and early signs of improvement in its business, Pepsi’s outlook is constructive.

ServiceNow Plans Swift Buyback Action as Shares Tank

Over the past three months, few big-name stocks have taken a larger beating than ServiceNow. Shares are down over 40%, putting ServiceNow’s performance in the bottom five among all S&P 500 stocks in this period. Fears that emerging artificial intelligence tools will “eat” software incumbents have been the main driver of this decline.

Despite this, ServiceNow showed few signs of weakness in its latest earnings report, beating estimates on sales and adjusted earnings per share. Although it forecasts a slight slowdown in growth during 2026, it also sees operating margin and free cash flow margin rising 100 basis points.

Furthermore, amid the fall in its share price, the company announced a $5 billion buyback program, adding to its $1.4 billion in remaining buyback capacity. This $6.4 billion is equal to a substantial 6.1% of its $105 billion market capitalization.

Notably, ServiceNow will use $2 billion of this capacity to execute an accelerated share repurchase (ASR). Through the ASR, the company wants to quickly buy back stock to take advantage of the drop in its share price, a clear sign of confidence.

Analysts Remain Steadfast Despite NOW’s Slide

Among this group, ServiceNow is the most intriguing name. The company’s actual financials have been strong, and Wall Street analysts are showing their support for the stock. The MarketBeat consensus price target near $193 implies 91% upside in shares. The average of targets updated after NOW’s Jan. 28 earnings report is only moderately lower, near $182. This figure suggests shares could gain by 81%.