Share counts, stock‑based pay and buybacks from the annual reports of the largest US companies: who issued the most new shares, who pays the most in stock, who buys back the most, and whether buybacks keep up.
Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) grew its diluted share count by 975.5% over five years, the most among US companies worth $10 billion or more that have been listed for at least six years. The table ranks five‑year changes in the diluted share count, from annual reports, data as of Oct 20, 2026.
| Company | Share count, 5 years | Last year | Stock pay, % of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) | +975.5% | +4.1% | — |
| AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) | +394.8% | +65.7% | — |
| Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) | +273.7% | +3.3% | 0.0% |
| Carvana (CVNA) | +245.1% | +69.6% | 0.5% |
| Strategy (MSTR) | +203.6% | +52.7% | 11.2% |
| Revolution Medicines (RVMD) | +185.5% | +13.3% | — |
| Coeur Mining (CDE) | +168.3% | +62.4% | 0.9% |
| Apollo Global Management (APO) | +167.2% | +0.6% | 2.2% |
| Permian Resources (PR) | +163.3% | +6.8% | 1.4% |
| Realty Income (O) | +161.9% | +3.2% | 0.5% |
| EQT (EQT) | +139.6% | +11.6% | 0.7% |
| International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) | +125.3% | 0.0% | 0.8% |
| Insmed (INSM) | +118.9% | +30.2% | 25.2% |
| QXO (QXO) | +117.9% | +50.2% | 2.1% |
| Viper Energy (VNOM) | +110.6% | +51.7% | 0.0% |
The largest jumps rarely come from employee pay alone. They come from deals paid in shares, other share classes converting into listed stock after an IPO, and new shares sold to raise cash. All of them dilute: each existing share owns a smaller slice of the company, whatever the reason. Recent listings are left out because their share base was not comparable five years ago.
Very little: the median share count of the 1,005 largest US‑listed companies shrank 0.1% over five years, and 50.1% of the companies ended with fewer shares than they started with. The averages hide two very different groups: mature companies that buy back stock every year, and fast‑growing or deal‑making companies whose share counts keep climbing.
Why it matters: profit per share grows more slowly than profit when shares are added. A company that grows earnings 10% a year while its share count grows 3% a year delivers about 6.8% growth per share.
Snowflake (SNOW) does, relative to its sales: stock‑based compensation equal to 34.1% of revenue in its last fiscal year ($1.6 billion). The list covers companies worth $10 billion or more with at least $1 billion of revenue. 10 of the top 15 are technology companies, which pay engineers largely in shares.
| Company | Stock pay, % of revenue | Stock pay, last year | Share count, 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake (SNOW) | 34.1% | $1.6 billion | +1.4% |
| Moderna (MRNA) | 24.8% | $483 million | +1.3% |
| Zscaler (ZS) | 24.5% | $822 million | +3.8% |
| Blue Owl Capital (OWL) | 23.5% | $674 million | +19.0% |
| Roblox (RBLX) | 23.1% | $1.1 billion | +6.5% |
| CrowdStrike (CRWD) | 22.8% | $1.1 billion | +5.5% |
| Axon Enterprise (AXON) | 22.8% | $634 million | +27.3% |
| MongoDB (MDB) | 22.3% | $550 million | +9.0% |
| Datadog (DDOG) | 21.9% | $751 million | +1.3% |
| Pinterest (PINS) | 20.9% | $880 million | −1.5% |
| Cloudflare (NET) | 20.8% | $451 million | +2.1% |
| Unity Software (U) | 20.8% | $385 million | +6.3% |
| Talen Energy (TLN) | 20.0% | $526 million | −19.1% |
| Samsara (IOT) | 19.5% | $315 million | +3.1% |
| DocuSign (DOCU) | 19.3% | $622 million | −2.7% |
By sector, the median technology company pays 4.8% of revenue in stock, against 0.0% in utilities. Stock pay is expensed in reported earnings, but many companies add it back in their “adjusted” figures, so check which earnings a valuation uses.
| Sector | Median stock pay, % of revenue | Companies |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | 4.8% | 183 |
| Healthcare | 1.6% | 137 |
| Real Estate | 1.2% | 63 |
| Communication Services | 1.1% | 40 |
| Financial Services | 0.9% | 147 |
| Consumer Cyclical | 0.6% | 88 |
| Industrials | 0.6% | 155 |
| Basic Materials | 0.4% | 48 |
| Consumer Defensive | 0.3% | 47 |
| Energy | 0.1% | 58 |
| Utilities | 0.0% | 39 |
Relative to its size, Charter Communications (CHTR): shares bought back in its last fiscal year worth 29.71% of its current market value. Buyback yield compares one year of repurchases with what the company is worth today, among companies worth $10 billion or more. 24 of these 25 companies cut their share count over the year.
| Company | Buyback yield | Bought back, last year | Share count, 1 year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charter Communications (CHTR) | 29.71% | $5.1 billion | −5.2% |
| Fiserv (FISV) | 20.80% | $5.9 billion | −5.7% |
| GFL Environmental (GFL) | 19.85% | $3.0 billion | −0.6% |
| Equitable (EQH) | 19.66% | $2.8 billion | −8.2% |
| Coca-Cola Consolidated (COKE) | 17.57% | $2.6 billion | −7.4% |
| DaVita (DVA) | 15.40% | $1.8 billion | +0.9% |
| Gartner (IT) | 14.99% | $2.0 billion | −8.0% |
| American International Group (AIG) | 14.29% | $5.8 billion | −13.2% |
| Corebridge Financial (CRBG) | 13.90% | $2.1 billion | −10.0% |
| PayPal (PYPL) | 13.18% | $6.1 billion | −6.8% |
| Southwest Airlines (LUV) | 13.15% | $2.5 billion | −13.2% |
| Maplebear (CART) | 13.00% | $1.4 billion | −3.3% |
| Invesco (IVZ) | 12.79% | $1.9 billion | −0.9% |
| GoDaddy (GDDY) | 12.38% | $1.6 billion | −3.2% |
| First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA) | 12.11% | $3.0 billion | −13.8% |
Over five years, Marathon Petroleum (MPC) retired the largest part of its shares: its share count fell 53.0%. Steady buyers like these raise each remaining shareholder’s stake every year.
| Company | Share count, 5 years | Buyback yield, last year |
|---|---|---|
| Marathon Petroleum (MPC) | −53.0% | 3.24% |
| MGM Resorts International (MGM) | −46.4% | 11.55% |
| DuPont de Nemours (DD) | −43.0% | 2.91% |
| Synchrony Financial (SYF) | −39.4% | 11.58% |
| eBay (EBAY) | −35.9% | 5.36% |
| American International Group (AIG) | −34.4% | 14.29% |
| Charter Communications (CHTR) | −34.2% | 29.71% |
| Equitable (EQH) | −33.8% | 19.66% |
| Arrow Electronics (ARW) | −33.5% | 1.39% |
| HCA Healthcare (HCA) | −33.2% | 11.13% |
| HP (HPQ) | −32.9% | 3.05% |
| General Motors (GM) | −32.5% | 7.74% |
Often not fully: 20 of the 25 large companies that pay the most in stock had more shares than a year earlier. Many companies announce large buybacks that mostly absorb the shares granted to employees, so the share count barely falls. The test is simple: compare this year’s diluted share count with last year’s. If it rose, owners were diluted, whatever the size of the buyback.
A falling share count is not automatically good either: buybacks at high prices can destroy value, and debt‑funded buybacks add risk. Read them next to the balance sheet; see Altman Z‑scores of large US companies and value traps.
Among US companies worth $10 billion or more and listed for at least six years, Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) (+975.5%), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) (+394.8%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) (+273.7%) increased their diluted share counts the most over five years, as of Oct 20, 2026. The biggest jumps usually come from deals paid in shares, share‑class conversions or capital raises, not stock pay alone.
Relative to sales, Snowflake (SNOW) (34.1% of revenue), Moderna (MRNA) (24.8% of revenue) and Zscaler (ZS) (24.5% of revenue) among companies with at least $10 billion in market value and $1 billion in revenue, in their last fiscal year. By sector, technology companies pay the most (median 4.8% of revenue).
Measured against market value, Charter Communications (CHTR) (29.7%, $5.1 billion), Fiserv (FISV) (20.8%, $5.9 billion) and GFL Environmental (GFL) (19.9%, $3.0 billion) had the highest buyback yields in their last fiscal year among companies worth $10 billion or more. Exent data as of Oct 20, 2026.
Often only partly. Of the 25 large companies that pay the most in stock relative to sales, 20 still had more shares than a year earlier despite any buybacks. The share count, not the buyback total, shows whether owners were diluted.
Yes. Company accounts expense it, and it transfers part of the company to employees just as a cash salary paid for by issuing shares would. Many companies leave it out of their “adjusted” earnings, which makes those figures look better than the reported ones.
For large US companies, very little on average: the median share count shrank 0.1% over five years across 1,005 companies, and 50.1% shrank. A steady rise of a few percent a year means each share owns a shrinking slice of the profits.
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