Accessible Version

U.S. Corporations' Repatriation of Offshore Profits: Evidence from 2018 Accessible Data

Figure 1: Repatriation of Overseas Earnings

Seasonally adjusted

  Billions of Dollars
2003:Q1 17053
2003:Q2 13977
2003:Q3 12698
2003:Q4 15731
2004:Q1 18833
2004:Q2 22365
2004:Q3 18720
2004:Q4 21638
2005:Q1 33015
2005:Q2 42518
2005:Q3 97350
2005:Q4 125829
2006:Q1 25527
2006:Q2 29128
2006:Q3 22000
2006:Q4 25031
2007:Q1 25321
2007:Q2 39146
2007:Q3 30382
2007:Q4 37985
2008:Q1 50467
2008:Q2 38624
2008:Q3 36308
2008:Q4 47049
2009:Q1 36229
2009:Q2 31099
2009:Q3 33790
2009:Q4 27443
2010:Q1 31010
2010:Q2 33059
2010:Q3 29461
2010:Q4 39086
2011:Q1 36212
2011:Q2 34845
2011:Q3 37761
2011:Q4 42304
2012:Q1 39818
2012:Q2 42624
2012:Q3 44769
2012:Q4 37672
2013:Q1 38414
2013:Q2 39416
2013:Q3 28770
2013:Q4 37480
2014:Q1 40541
2014:Q2 36915
2014:Q3 41372
2014:Q4 38935
2015:Q1 36221
2015:Q2 36840
2015:Q3 36393
2015:Q4 39621
2016:Q1 29006
2016:Q2 32131
2016:Q3 35410
2016:Q4 42703
2017:Q1 38215
2017:Q2 34881
2017:Q3 55110
2017:Q4 26874
2018:Q1 285885
2018:Q2 223792
2018:Q3 120231
2018:Q4 146605

Source: BEA Balance of Payments data.

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Figure 2: Aggregate Ratio of Share Buybacks to Assets

Date Top 15 (Ratio) Top 15 (Recent dollar values, $B) Other (Ratio) Top 15 minus Other (Difference)
2011 0.009   0.008 0.001
2012 0.007   0.007 0.000
2013 0.011   0.008 0.003
2014 0.014   0.008 0.006
2015 Q1 0.012   0.009 0.003
2015 Q2 0.013   0.007 0.006
2015 Q3 0.015   0.009 0.007
2015 Q4 0.014   0.008 0.006
2016 Q1 0.018   0.009 0.009
2016 Q2 0.016   0.007 0.009
2016 Q3 0.011   0.005 0.005
2016 Q4 0.013   0.006 0.007
2017 Q1 0.010   0.007 0.003
2017 Q2 0.009   0.006 0.003
2017 Q3 0.009   0.006 0.003
2017 Q4 0.011   0.006 0.005
2018 Q1 0.024 56 0.007 0.017
2018 Q2 0.024 53 0.008 0.016
2018 Q3 0.034 75 0.007 0.027
2018 Q4 0.021 46 0.009 0.012

Note: For years before 2015, annual averages of quarterly values are shown.

Source: Compustat; Bloomberg.

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Figure 3: Aggregate Ratio of Cap-Ex Plus R&D to Assets

Date Top 15 (Ratio) Top 15 (Recent dollar values, $B) Other (Ratio) Top 15 minus Other (Difference)
2011 0.015   0.018 -0.002
2012 0.017   0.018 -0.001
2013 0.018   0.018 0.000
2014 0.019   0.018 0.001
2015 Q1 0.018   0.016 0.002
2015 Q2 0.018   0.016 0.002
2015 Q3 0.018   0.016 0.002
2015 Q4 0.023   0.020 0.003
2016 Q1 0.019   0.014 0.005
2016 Q2 0.022   0.014 0.008
2016 Q3 0.021   0.014 0.007
2016 Q4 0.026   0.018 0.007
2017 Q1 0.020   0.013 0.007
2017 Q2 0.023   0.013 0.009
2017 Q3 0.022   0.014 0.008
2017 Q4 0.026   0.018 0.008
2018 Q1 0.025 58 0.014 0.012
2018 Q2 0.028 63 0.015 0.013
2018 Q3 0.027 60 0.015 0.013
2018 Q4 0.033 73 0.019 0.014

Note: For years before 2015, annual averages of quarterly values are shown. R&D is research and development.

Source: Compustat; Bloomberg.

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Figure 4: Quarterly Change in Aggregate Ratio of Debt to Assets

Date Top 15 (Change in Ratio) Top 15 (Recent dollar values, $B) Other (Change in Ratio) Top 15 minus Other (Difference)
2011 -0.006   0.000 -0.006
2012 -0.009   0.002 -0.010
2013 -0.003   0.003 -0.006
2014 -0.001   0.004 -0.005
2015 Q1 0.000   0.010 -0.009
2015 Q2 -0.006   0.004 -0.010
2015 Q3 0.004   0.003 0.001
2015 Q4 -0.028   0.008 -0.036
2016 Q1 0.011   0.009 0.002
2016 Q2 -0.003   0.003 -0.005
2016 Q3 0.006   0.001 0.006
2016 Q4 -0.002   0.000 -0.001
2017 Q1 0.002   0.004 -0.002
2017 Q2 0.008   0.001 0.007
2017 Q3 0.000   -0.001 0.001
2017 Q4 -0.001   0.000 -0.001
2018 Q1 0.002 -15 0.002 0.000
2018 Q2 -0.012 -41 -0.001 -0.011
2018 Q3 -0.003 -20 -0.002 -0.001
2018 Q4 -0.008 -9 0.004 -0.013

Note: For years before 2015, annual averages of quarterly values are shown.

Source: Compustat; Bloomberg.

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Figure 5: Aggregate Ratio of Net Purchase of Securities to Assets

Date Top 15 (Ratio) Top 15 (Recent dollar values, $B) Other (Ratio) Top 15 minus Other (Difference)
2011 0.004   0.001 0.003
2012 0.009   0.002 0.007
2013 0.004   0.002 0.003
2014 0.006   0.001 0.006
2015 Q1 0.010   0.000 0.009
2015 Q2 0.011   0.003 0.008
2015 Q3 0.003   0.002 0.002
2015 Q4 0.008   0.002 0.006
2016 Q1 0.007   0.000 0.006
2016 Q2 0.006   0.000 0.006
2016 Q3 0.015   0.000 0.015
2016 Q4 0.003   0.006 -0.003
2017 Q1 0.007   0.002 0.006
2017 Q2 0.010   0.000 0.010
2017 Q3 -0.002   0.000 -0.002
2017 Q4 0.007   0.002 0.005
2018 Q1 -0.029 -66 -0.002 -0.027
2018 Q2 -0.012 -27 0.000 -0.012
2018 Q3 -0.004 -10 0.003 -0.008
2018 Q4 -0.006 -13 0.002 -0.007

Note: For years before 2015, annual averages of quarterly values are shown.

Source: Compustat; Bloomberg.

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Last Update: August 06, 2019