3 Stocks Flashing Buy Signals With $8.5 Billion in Buybacks
Written by Leo Miller | Reviewed by Clare Titus
November 3, 2025
Image Licensed from DepositPhotos. License #351760650
Key Points- MSCI authorized a $3 billion buyback, with its CEO openly stating that the company is undervalued.
- Down 30%, AICD leader Zebra Technologies announced a $500 million buyback, double its historical average.
- Carrier Global launched a $5 billion buyback amid weak residential HVAC sales but soaring demand from data centers.
- MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in December.
Buybacks often serve as avote of confidence from a company's management, especially when share price has lagged behind expectations.
After experiencing share price weakness, three notable companies have announced major stock buyback programs, indicating that they believe the current weakness is not a risk, but rather an opportunity to create long-term shareholder value.
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MSCI CEO Sends a Clear Message: This Stock Is Undervalued
MSCI Today
MSCI 
MSCI
$574.12 -6.98 (-1.20%)
As of 03:59 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$486.73
?
$642.45
Dividend Yield1.25%
P/E Ratio36.38
Price Target$655.90
First up is one of the biggest names in global investing, MSCI NYSE: MSCI.
Like S&P Global NYSE: SPGI, MSCI maintains some of the world’s most important market indexes. MSCI's indexes benchmark over $18.3 trillion in assets, which, compared to the $20 trillion in assets benchmarked or indexed to the S&P 500 Index at the end of 2024, illustrates the company's significance.
However, MSCI shares haven’t performed well so far in 2025, delivering a year-to-date loss of 1%. In accordance, the company recently authorized a $3 billion share buyback program, equivalent to around 6.8% of the company’s market capitalization.
On its recent earnings call, MSCI CEO Henry Fernandez said, “We love MSCI, and we love it even more when it's an undervalued franchise." He emphasized that undervaluation has increased over the last couple of years, and the company aims to capitalize aggressively on this opportunity.
While buybacks are often implicit signals that a company values its shares, it is somewhat unusual for management to state this so plainly. This, combined with MSCI’s reputation in investment management, creates significant intrigue around the stock.
Zebra Technologies: Plans to Double Buyback Spending
Zebra Technologies Today
ZBRA 
Zebra Technologies
$260.35 -10.23 (-3.78%)
As of 04:00 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$205.73
?
$427.76
P/E Ratio26.24
Price Target$354.00
Next up is Zebra Technologies NASDAQ: ZBRA. This $13.6 billion tech stock is a world leader in Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) technology, including barcode scanners and mobile computers designed for inventory management.
Zebra shares are down around 30% in 2025, and it does not seem like a coincidence that Zebra just announced a $500 million buyback program, equal to 3.7% of its market capitalization.
Additionally, the firm says that it plans to use this capacity over the next 12 months, which would be more than double the company’s average 12-month buyback spending over the past five years.It also exceeds the $315 million spent over the past 12 months, reinforcing that this isn’t just about capital return; it’s a strategic signal.
Although the firm did not explicitly call its stock undervalued, the scale of the buyback authorization sends a strong message that the company is looking to capitalize on current price weakness.
Carrier Global: Bets on Data Center Growth With a $5 Billion Buyback
Carrier Global Today
CARR 
Carrier Global
$57.61 -0.25 (-0.43%)
As of 03:59 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$54.22
?
$81.09
Dividend Yield1.56%
P/E Ratio20.81
Price Target$74.18
Last up is Carrier Global NYSE: CARR. Carrier is a major supplier of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC/R) products, with a valuation of $50.1 billion. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock has provided a total return of negative 18%, and that figure sits at down 12% in 2025.
This comes as much of its business centers around residential HVAC, which is in a downturn. Residential sales in its Climate Solutions America segment were down 30% last quarter. However, data center demand has been a big bright spot, with sales up 250% last quarter.
Given this, there could be an interesting opportunity in this stock should residential sales recover.
Notably, Carrier just authorized a $5 billion share buyback program, equal to a whopping 10% of its market cap. The firm expects its new authorization to last into 2028, bringing the total annual buyback spending to approximately $1.7 billion.
Although that number is a decrease from the $3 billion it anticipates spending on buybacks in 2025, the fact that the company plans to continue buying back stock at a strong pace indicates that it sees value in its shares.
Buybacks Send a Unified Signal: Value Opportunity AheadOverall, these three names are signaling that the market may be undervaluing their shares. While buyback authorizations are just one of many indicators investors should pay attention to, these signals make MSCI, ZBRA, and CARR stocks worth watching. |
