Buyback yield (TTM)
4.83%
Shareholder yield (TTM)
8.10%
5Y share count change
-27.2%
Buyback spend (TTM)
$2.23B
Cumulative buybacks
$44.39B
Key takeaways
- MetLife (MET) repurchased about $2.23B of stock over the trailing twelve months.
- Diluted share count is down 27.2% over the last ~5 fiscal years — buybacks are net-shrinking the share base.
- Cash buyback spend has compounded at +12.5% per year over the latest 5-year window.
- TTM repurchases used about 15% of free cash flow remaining after dividends.
Dividend & buyback yield over time for MetLife (MET)
Stacked annual yields — buyback yield (TTM cash repurchases ÷ market cap) plus dividend yield from the same fiscal-year-end key-metrics period — show how total cash return per dollar of equity has evolved.
Diluted vs basic shares (annual) for MetLife (MET)
Diluted weighted-average shares are the EPS denominator — a falling count means buybacks are outpacing SBC dilution.
Year-over-year change in diluted shares for MetLife (MET)
Green is fewer shares vs the prior fiscal year (net repurchase); red is growth (dilution). The earliest year shown has no prior year to compare.
Cash buyback spend over time for MetLife (MET)
Latest: $3.88B
Overview
In 2025, MetLife (MET) buyback spend totalled $3.88B – grew 21.1% year-over-year.
Looking at the 2020–2025 (5 years) stretch, MetLife buyback spend compounded at +12.5% per year, sustaining 2 straight years of year-over-year growth.
MetLife buyback spend peaked at $4.80B in 2021; the latest annual figure is $3.88B in 2025 (19.2% below peak).
Across the available history, buyback spend reached its high of $4.80B in 2021 and its low of $0.00 in 1997.
MetLife Buyback Spend 2025: $3.88B
2025's buyback spend for MetLife came in at $3.88B, grew 21.1% from 2024.
MetLife Buyback Spend 2024: $3.21B
MetLife posted buyback spend of $3.21B in 2024, edged up 3.4% from 2023.
MetLife Buyback Spend 2023: $3.10B
In 2023, MetLife reported buyback spend of $3.10B, declined 6.7% below 2022.
MetLife Buyback Spend 2022: $3.33B
MetLife buyback spend in 2022 was $3.33B, plunged 30.8% below 2021.
MetLife Buyback Spend 2021: $4.80B
MetLife buyback spend in 2021 was $4.80B.
See more financial history for MetLife (MET).
Buyback, SBC & dilution history
Buyback spend, SBC, net dilution effect, and share count.
| 2025 | $3.88B | $0.00 | $3.88B | 7.40% | 0.66B | -6.5% | |
| 2024 | $3.21B | $0.00 | $3.21B | 5.63% | 0.71B | -6.7% | |
| 2023 | $3.10B | $0.00 | $3.10B | 6.29% | 0.76B | -5.7% | |
| 2022 | $3.33B | $0.00 | $3.33B | 5.90% | 0.81B | -7.0% | |
| 2021 | $4.80B | $0.00 | $4.80B | 9.17% | 0.87B | -4.8% | |
| 2020 | $2.15B | $0.00 | $2.15B | 5.10% | 0.91B | -3.3% | |
| 2019 | $2.29B | $0.00 | $2.29B | 4.88% | 0.94B | -6.9% | |
| 2018 | $3.99B | $0.00 | $3.99B | 9.92% | 1.01B | -2.8% | |
| 2017 | $2.93B | $0.00 | $2.93B | 5.50% | 1.04B | -4.7% | |
| 2016 | $372.00M | $0.00 | $372.00M | 0.70% | 1.10B | -2.9% | |
| 2015 | $3.43B | $0.00 | $3.43B | 7.19% | 1.13B | -0.3% | |
| 2014 | $1.00B | $0.00 | $1.00B | 1.83% | 1.13B | +0.9% | |
| 2013 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 1.12B | +2.8% | |
| 2012 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 1.09B | +3.2% | |
| 2011 | $2.95B | $0.00 | $2.95B | — | 1.06B | +7.3% | |
| 2010 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.99B | +20.5% | |
| 2009 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.82B | +9.9% | |
| 2008 | $1.25B | $0.00 | $1.25B | — | 0.74B | -2.3% | |
| 2007 | $1.71B | $0.00 | $1.71B | — | 0.76B | -1.1% | |
| 2006 | $500.00M | $0.00 | $500.00M | — | 0.77B | +2.1% | |
| 2005 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.76B | +0.0% | |
| 2004 | $1.00B | $0.00 | $1.00B | — | 0.75B | +1.1% | |
| 2003 | $97.00M | $0.00 | $97.00M | — | 0.75B | +2.4% | |
| 2002 | $471.00M | $0.00 | $471.00M | — | 0.73B | -4.4% | |
| 2001 | $1.32B | $0.00 | $1.32B | — | 0.76B | +19.3% | |
| 2000 | $613.00M | $0.00 | $613.00M | — | 0.64B | -18.3% | |
| 1999 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.78B | 0.0% | |
| 1998 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.78B | +5.0% | |
| 1997 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | — | 0.74B | — |
- 2025$3.88B
- 2024$3.21B
- 2023$3.10B
- 2022$3.33B
- 2021$4.80B
- 2020$2.15B
- 2019$2.29B
- 2018$3.99B
- 2017$2.93B
- 2016$372.00M
- 2015$3.43B
- 2014$1.00B
- 2013$0.00
- 2012$0.00
- 2011$2.95B
- 2010$0.00
- 2009$0.00
- 2008$1.25B
- 2007$1.71B
- 2006$500.00M
- 2005$0.00
- 2004$1.00B
- 2003$97.00M
- 2002$471.00M
- 2001$1.32B
- 2000$613.00M
- 1999$0.00
- 1998$0.00
- 1997$0.00
Buybacks vs stock-based compensation for MetLife (MET)
Annual cash repurchases set against stock-based compensation. Coverage above 1× means buybacks fully offset the equity dilution from SBC. TTM coverage: N/A.
Buybacks vs dividends (share of cash returned) for MetLife (MET)
How MetLife splits cash returned to shareholders between dividends and buybacks.
Sector peers by buyback spend
Companies in the same sector as MetLife, ranked by their latest buyback spend.
| $34.59B | |
| $24.10B | |
| $19.52B | |
| $13.39B | |
| $12.36B | |
| $11.73B | |
| $5.83B | |
| $0.00 |
- $34.59B
- $24.10B
- $19.52B
- $13.39B
- $12.36B
- $11.73B
- $5.83B
Buyback capacity (TTM)
Free cash flow minus dividends paid versus actual TTM repurchases — the headroom bar shows how much of post-dividend FCF is still being deployed elsewhere.
Headroom $15.02B (TTM FCF − TTM dividends, clamped at zero).
Frequently asked questions
Data & methodology
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