????美式快餐發源企業、《財富》美國500強公司麥當勞（McDonald's）)上周四宣布，它將用200億美元進行股票回購和派發股息，由此加入了過去18個月企業界的股票回購浪潮。

????200億美元的數額會讓任何一位投資垂涎，但這筆錢需要在回購和派息之間進行分配。與2014年其他公司宣布的股票回購相比，這筆錢只能算是零花錢。

????據Birinyi Associates的數據，今年迄今為止，各家公司已經宣布了376項股票回購計劃，總額高達2,610億美元。這個數字與2012年相比增長了近72%，但與回購創下紀錄的2013年相比，略微有所回落。

????回購股票會幫助推高股價，很多分析師將標準普爾500（Standard & Poor's 500 index）創下多次歷史新高歸功于股票回購的盛行。

????但最近，回購勢頭開始減弱。跟蹤回購比例最大的100家公司的標準普爾500回購指數最近創下了自2012年年中以來的首次下跌。隨著股價連創新高，股票回購所產生的推動作用消失，公司投資較長期項目或使用多余現金進行收購變得更有價值。

????據Birinyi收集的數據，下面是今年迄今已經獲得授權的5大回購。

1.蘋果公司

????《財富》美國500強公司蘋果（Apple）)已宣布，將從現金中拿出300億美元用于股票回購。這個消息讓投資者很高興：股價暴漲，甚至在消息發布一周后，這只股票相對于標準普爾指數在這7天上漲了12%。蘋果有一項規模更大、總額高達1300億美元的資本回報計劃，將一直延續到2015年，而這些回購就是這項計劃的一部分。

2.富國銀行

????作為2014年資本計劃的一部分內容，這家總部位于加州舊金山的銀行表示將把股票回購量增加3.50億股，總額達到近170億美元。它還將派息提高約17%，達到了每股0.35美元。

3.3M公司

????這家Post-it即時貼和思高（Scotch）膠帶制造商在2月份授權進行120億美元的股票回購，取代當前75億美元的回購計劃。《財富》美國500強公司3M公司（3M） 遵循了去年末發表的聲明行動。這項聲明稱，公司在之后4年準備投入100億美元用于收購，最多將投入220億美元用于回購。

4.美國電話電報公司

????《財富》美國500強公司美國電話電報公司（AT&T）)也于3月份批準了回購至多3億股股票的計劃，價值約105億美元。這項回購計劃是它過去三年中宣布的第四項回購計劃。這家公司自從2012年開始股票回購至今，總計已經回購了7.75億股的股票。

5.卡特彼勒

????這家總部位于伊利諾伊州皮奧利亞的重型機械制造商于1月份批準了100億美元的股票回購，預計將在今年一季度回購17億股股票，以完成先前75億美元的回購計劃。公司CEO道格?奧伯赫爾曼表示，正在進行的回購是“我們的現金流創紀錄的結果”。（財富中文網）

????McDonald's (MCD, Fortune 500), the all-American fast food Mecca, announced it would put $20 billion towards share repurchases and dividends Thursday, jumping on board the buyback trend that has boomed over the past 18 months.

????A $20 billion number would make any investor salivate, but when divided between buybacks and dividends, it's pocket change compared to the share repurchase announcements other companies have made in 2014.

????So far this year, companies have announced 376 share-repurchase initiatives for a total of $261 billion, according to data from Birinyi Associates. That's nearly 72% higher than 2012, though slightly lower when compared to the same period in 2013, which was a record year for buybacks.

????Repurchasing shares helps boost stock prices and many analysts credit the boom in stock repurchases for pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index to record highs.

????Recently, however, the buyback boom has started to fade. The Standard & Poor's 500 Buyback Index, which tracks the 100 companies with the largest share repurchase ratio, recently recorded its first quarterly decline since mid 2012. As stock prices reach record highs, the boost from share repurchases diminishes, making it more valuable for companies to invest in longer-term projects or use extra cash for acquisitions.

????Here are the top 5 share repurchases authorized so far this year, according to data collected by Birinyi.

1. Apple

????Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) announced that it would put $30 billion of its cash toward share repurchases. The news made investors happy: The stock popped, and even a week later was up 12% relative to the S&P over that same 7-day period. The buybacks were part of a larger $130 billion capital return program that the company said would extend through 2015.

2. Wells Fargo

????As part of its 2014 capital plan, the San Francisco, Calif.-based bank said it would increase its buybacks by 350 million shares, or a total of almost $17 billion. It also boosted its dividend rate by about 17% to $0.35 a share.

3. 3M

????The maker of Post-it notes and Scotch tape authorized a $12 billion stock repurchase program in February, replacing its current $7.5 buyback program. 3M's (MMM, Fortune 500) move followed its announcement late last year that it intends to spend $10 billion on acquisitions and repurchase up to $22 billion of shares over the next four years.

4. AT&T

????AT&T (T, Fortune 500) approved a stock repurchase of up to 300 million shares worth about $10.5 billion in March. The buyback is the fourth initiative announced over the past three years. Since 2012, when the company started its stock buybacks, it has repurchased 775 million of its shares.

5. Caterpillar

????The Peoria, Ill.-based maker of heavy equipment authorized $10 billion in stock repurchases in January and expected to buy back $1.7 billion of its shares in the first quarter this year to complete its previous $7.5 billion repurchase initiative. The ongoing buybacks are "a result of our record cash flow," said CEO Doug Oberhelman.