Aggressive (≥70% executed)

Company actively buying — provides daily flow demand. Floors price during selloffs. Often signal of management confidence.

Large program ≥5% of cap

Meaningful share reduction. Mechanically boosts EPS. Multi-year tailwind for stock if company executes consistently.

Slow / paused programs

Watch for cash strain or capital reallocation. Companies pause buybacks before bad news ~30% of time. Signal not noise.