Second-quarter data for S&P 500 companies show a pullback in share repurchases compared with the first quarter.
The numbers are still being totaled, but S&P 500 companies are estimated to have handed back almost $900 billion in cash to shareholders last year.
Corporate balance sheets are swelling with cash, reaching $1.8 trillion at the end of 2012. Many accuse companies of hoarding, but there’s more to the story.
