The Meb Faber Show · Friday, October 2, 2026
Meb Faber explains that focusing solely on dividends misses a significant portion of shareholder returns, as companies increasingly use share buybacks. He highlights that buybacks, along with dividends, constitute shareholder yield, offering a more complete picture of cash returned to investors.
“Reinvested dividends have historically made up roughly half of U.S. stock's long-term returns.”
“But the dividend is only one piece of total return. As I record this, the S&P 500's dividend yield is sitting around 1%.”
“Capturing the entire picture is the idea behind shareholder yield. Instead of asking how much a company pays in dividends, ask how much it returns to shareholders overall. dividends and buybacks combined.”