NetApp’s Buyback Is Better Funded Than It Is Big

NetApp (NTAP) has seen significant stock appreciation, up 79% over the past year, with a substantial portion of its earnings-per-share growth driven by share buybacks rather than business growth. The company's strong free cash flow, generated primarily from its high-margin recurring support business, funds a 2.7% total shareholder yield. Despite rising memory costs impacting gross margins, NetApp plans to continue returning up to 100% of free cash flow to shareholders.