Oracle became a publicly traded company in 1986, and six years later in 1992, it announced its first stock buyback plan. Since then, Oracle has spent billions of dollars buying back shares.

The buybacks also increased founder Larry Ellison's stake in Oracle to nearly 41%, which has helped to make him one of the richest people in the world. Ellison's stake in Oracle alone is valued at around $150 billion as of summer 2026.

Here's a look at how much stock Oracle has bought back over the years.

When was Oracle's first stock buyback?

Oracle announced its first stock buyback plan of up to 12 million shares in 1992, and for its fiscal year 1993, it recorded the repurchase of 3.2 million shares for $43.626 million. (The company's fiscal year runs from June to May.)

It followed that up in 1994 with the repurchase of 2.765 million shares for $81.157 million.

How many times has Oracle announced stock buybacks?

Oracle has an open-ended policy on stock repurchases. Oracle was aggressive in its repurchases in the mid to late 1990s due to the dilutive effect of its numerous stock splits. It stopped conducting stock splits after 2000.

"Our repurchase program does not have an expiration date and we are not obligated to repurchase a specified number or dollar value of shares," Oracle said in its 2026 annual report.

Related: Oracle's stock split history explained

How much stock has Oracle bought back?

Since implementing its buyback program in 1992, Oracle has repurchased a total of $193 billion worth of its stock through May 2026.

In its 2026 annual report, Oracle had about $6.3 billion remaining available as of May 31, 2026, for stock repurchases pursuant to its stock buyback program.

Oracle's stock buyback history by year

*Stock repurchases by year were compiled from Oracle's annual reports. From 1993 to 2001, data were gathered from the latest available data provided by Oracle.

**Average stock price was based on the daily closing price in Oracle's fiscal year, starting on June 1 and ending on May 31.

How does Oracle decide when to buy back its stock?

Oracle has a sort of at-will approach to buying back its shares, saying that its "stock repurchase program may be accelerated, suspended, delayed or discontinued at any time."

The company has used both cash and debt to buy back shares. Based on its historical stock price performance, the company typically bought shares when it believed its stock price was relatively low and held off on buying back stock in large amounts when it was trading at relative highs.

More on stock buybacks:

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Oracle's stock rose from around 10 cents in early 1987 - adjusted for stock splits - to a peak of around $46 in 2000. In the years after the dot-com collapse in 2000, Oracle kept up with its repurchase program by buying at least $1 billion a year, and that increased significantly after 2011.

However, in recent years, from 2023 to 2026, Oracle has kept its annual repurchases at about $1 billion or less, as the company focused on spending heavily on its artificial intelligence initiatives. One of its biggest services is OCI Generative AI, which is used for developing and operating generative AI applications.

Why does Oracle repurchase its stock?

Like other companies, Oracle conducts stock buybacks as a means of increasing its earnings per share and to set aside shares for stock awards for executives meeting internal performance targets. In the 1990s, it aggressively repurchased stock to counter the dilutive effect of successive stock split actions.

In the years after the dot-com collapse, Oracle bought back its shares on the view that its stock price was low and would rise in the future - as demonstragted by the repurchase of about $130 billion in shares over a 10-year span from 2013 to 2022.

How do Oracle shareholders benefit from stock repurchases?

Shareholders benefited from the reduced number of outstanding shares in the form of higher earnings per share and dividend payments. Oracle implemented 10 stock splits from 1987 to 2000, and hasn't conducted one since, as its stock languished for years after the dot-com collapse.

Even though Oracle refrained from stock splits as its stock traded in a range below its 2000 peak, Oracle started paying dividends for the first time in 2009. Its first quarterly dividend in May 2009 was 5 cents per share, and it has grown to 50 cents per share in May 2026.

Related: Oracle's dividend history: Payout ratio and dividend yield

How does Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison benefit from stock buybacks?

Larry Ellison has benefited the most from the company's share repurchases because, as the number of outstanding shares declined over the years, especially since 2000, in the absence of stock splits, his ownership stake increased.

He reportedly held a 26% stake in 1992, just as Oracle planned its buyback initiative. As of September 2025, based on the company's 2025 proxy statement, Ellison held a 40.6% stake in Oracle, becoming the company's biggest individual shareholder and reaping large dividend payments.

Other founders in tech, such as Jeff Bezos, sell shares from time to time to raise capital for personal spending. Ellison has taken a different approach. He borrows from banks against the shares he holds in Oracle, thereby using his shares as collateral, which allows him to maintain his large ownership stake in the company.

Related: Does Intel pay dividends? History & future prospects explained

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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 2:40 PM.