Last update: 01/08/2025

Listed companies reward their shareholders with a portion of their profits. Cash dividends are the most common form of this reward. But some companies' shareholder remuneration offers up an alternative: the share buyback. Here we tell you about our shareholder remuneration against 2024 results. 

Santander's current shareholder remuneration policy consists of a total remuneration target of approximately 50% of the Group's net attributable profit, divided equally between cash dividends and share buyback programmes.

Shareholder remuneration charged against 2024 results

The 2025 AGM approved a final cash dividend charged against 2024 results in the gross amount of €11.00 cents per share paid on 2 May 2025. Including the interim cash dividend paid in November 2024 (€10.00 cents), the total cash dividend per share paid against 2024 results was €21.00 cents, around 19% more than the dividends paid against 2023 results.

Additionally, we completed two share buyback programmes for a total of  €3,112 million. The Group has now repurchased more than 14% of its outstanding shares since we began our buybacks in 2021.

Including these cash dividends and share buybacks, total shareholder remuneration against 2024 results was €6,287 million, 13% higher than the remuneration against 2023 results, distributed approximately equally between cash dividends and share buybacks.

As announced on 5 February 2025, the shareholder remuneration policy that the board intends to apply for the 2025 results consists of a total shareholder remuneration of approximately 50% of the Group reported profit (excluding non-cash, non-capital ratios impact items), to be distributed in approximately equal parts between cash dividends and share buybacks.

Additionally, on the same date, the board announced its objective to allocate €10 billion to shareholder remuneration in the form of share buybacks charged against 2025 and 2026 results, as well as anticipated capital excess. This target includes i) the buybacks that form part of the aforementioned shareholder remuneration policy, and ii) additional buybacks following the publication of the full year results, to distribute end-of-year CET1 excess capital. On 30 July 2025, the bank announced the launch of the first share buyback programme for 2025 results. You can find all the information about this buyback programme here.

On 5 May 2025, Santander announced its intention to distribute 50% of the capital released from the disposal of its 49% stake in Santander Bank Polska S.A., through a share buyback of approximately €3.2 billion in early 2026, as part of additional buybacks to distribute excess capital and, as a result, it could exceed the €10 billion target. Upon announcing the agreement to acquire TSB Banking Group plc on 1 July 2025, the bank confirmed its goal to distribute at least €10 billion in share buybacks charged against 2025 and 2026 results and excess capital.

The implementation of the shareholder remuneration policy and the aforementioned share buybacks are subject to future corporate and regulatory decisions and approvals.

What is a share buyback programme and why is it important for shareholders?

Share buyback is a form of remuneration for a company's shareholders. A share buyback is when companies buy back their own shares from the market, cancel them and, ultimately, reduce share capital. With fewer shares in circulation, each shareholder gets both a larger stake in the company and a higher return on future dividends.

What are the benefits of a share buyback

Here are some of the ways that buybacks work to shareholders' advantage under normal market conditions:

• First, since the company’s value remains the same but the supply of shares is lower, the share price will increase. However, that depends on market behaviour. 
• Second, the earnings per share (EPS) should increase because fewer shares are in circulation. Shareholders will have a greater stake in the company’s profits.
• Unless a shareholder chooses to offload their shares, a buyback is a tax-free transaction.

Imagine a listed company with 1,000 shares, and 100 (10%) of them are held by one shareholder. The company runs a share buyback programme and purchases 100 shares, reducing total share capital to 900 shares. The shareholder, whose stake has just increased by 1.11% to 11.11%, is now entitled to more of the company's profits. Also, the share price should become more attractive to investors.

In short, a share buy-back programme allows companies to generate additional value for their shareholders. Under normal market conditions, the portion of profits that listed companies use to buy back their own shares directly benefits the price of the shares.