S&P 500 companies' cash dries up as stock buybacks mount

“A boon for U.S. share buybacks” has left companies with less cash in their coffers, according to Sophie Huynh and Alain Bokobza, strategists at Societe Generale SA. They tracked the money held by the S&P 500 companies in a report published Tuesday. Cash and money-market investments in the S&P 500 peaked in 2018’s first quarter on a per-share basis, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The total fell 5.3% through the third quarter of this year. S&P 500 companies have bought back the equivalent of 22% of its market value since 2010, the report said.