Share repurchases on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) are experiencing an unprecedented year.

During the first nine months of 2026 (9M2026), 80 primary-listed companies bought back S$2.38 billion of their own shares on the open market.

This amount has already exceeded the S$2.23 billion recorded for the entirety of 2025, which had previously been the highest figure in SGX's 10-year tracking history.

Predictably, the major market players accounted for the bulk of the activity.

Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SGX: Z74), Keppel Ltd (SGX: BN4), and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11) represented 72% of the overall total.

Three constituents of the iEdge Singapore Next 50 Index have also been purchasing shares.

Food Empire Holdings Limited (SGX: F03), Raffles Medical Group Ltd (SGX: BSL), and UltraGreen.ai Limited (SGX: ULG) collectively spent S$27.1 million on 16.9 million shares.

Food Empire spent nearly double what the other two companies spent combined.

Share repurchases by three iEdge Singapore Next 50 stocks in 9M26

Company | Total shares repurchased | Total buyback value | Average buyback price

Food Empire Holdings (SGX: F03) | 7,645,100 | S$17,915,500 | S$2.34

Raffles Medical Group (SGX: BSL) | 5,450,000 | S$4,816,868 | S$0.88

UltraGreen.ai* (SGX: ULG) | 3,821,100 | S$4,391,374 | S$1.15

Total | 16,916,200 | S$27,123,742 |

Source: SGX, data as at 30 September 2026. Buyback value includes stamp duties and clearing charges.

*SGX converted UltraGreen.ai's buybacks to an SGD equivalent value.

The size of a buyback only reveals so much.

As a dividend investor, you also want to understand where the money originates.

Free cash flow is the engine that keeps both dividend payouts and share buyback programmes running sustainably over time.

Can Raffles Medical sustain buybacks while its profit declines?

On paper, Raffles Medical Group (RMG) experienced a soft first half of 2026 (1H2026).

Revenue declined 6.7% year on year (YoY) to S$353.2 million, while profit attributable to shareholders fell 9.6% YoY to S$29 million as finance income dropped 52.3%.

Cash flow moved in the opposite direction.

The healthcare operator generated S$61.3 million in free cash flow, representing a 17.9% year-on-year increase.

The business also repaid S$51.1 million in bank borrowings during the half.

As at 30 June 2026, the group held S$262.3 million in cash with no bank debt on its balance sheet.

Against those numbers, RMG's S$4.8 million of buybacks over 9M26 appears modest, with no on-market buybacks in September.

Don't be deterred by the absence of an interim dividend.

RMG has paid one core dividend annually since FY2021.

Its final dividend for FY2025 increased to S$0.030 per share, up from S$0.025 a year earlier.

What is UltraGreen.ai using to fund its buybacks?

UltraGreen.ai Limited, the newest listing among the trio, debuted on the SGX Mainboard in December 2025.

The company specialises in producing indocyanine green (ICG), a medical dye used widely in fluorescence-guided surgery.

In 1H2026, revenue rose 24.3% YoY to US$87.2 million, driven by a 29.6% increase in ICG sales.

Net profit attributable to owners grew at an even faster pace, surging 53% YoY to US$39.2 million.

Free cash flow slipped 5% YoY to US$23.8 million.

As at 30 June 2026, the group held US$65.5 million in cash alongside US$132.1 million in short-term treasury investments.

Its only borrowings are US$5 million in lease liabilities, leaving the company with a robust net cash position.

Over 9M2026, UltraGreen.ai bought back 3.82 million shares worth the equivalent of S$4.4 million while also declaring an interim dividend of US$0.01 per share.

Management remains confident in its outlook and expects FY2026 revenue of US$175 million to US$185 million, with the second half expected to be stronger than the first.

Is Food Empire buying back more than its cash flow covers?

You may know Food Empire through MacCoffee, its 3-in-1 instant coffee brand.

For 1H2026, revenue rose 15% YoY to US$315.1 million, with positive growth across all six operating segments.

Attributable net profit came in at US$35.4 million, reversing from a net loss of US$1.5 million a year earlier.

That previous loss was largely caused by a one-off, non-cash fair value adjustment of US$32.6 million; adjusting for that item, underlying net profit was up 13.6% YoY.

Cash flow is where it gets complicated.

Capital expenditure more than doubled to US$30.1 million during the period, dragging free cash flow from a positive US$20.5 million a year ago into a negative US$4.1 million.

Fortunately, the company retains a comfortable buffer.

As at 30 June 2026, it held US$151.3 million in cash against US$100.7 million in total debt, giving it a net cash balance of US$50.7 million.

Negative free cash flow has not halted the buybacks.

Food Empire was the biggest buyer of the three, spending S$17.9 million on buybacks over 9M2026 – with 38% of it in September alone.

Management also raised its interim dividend payout to S$0.04 per share, up from S$0.03 a year ago.

The spending on new plants isn't over yet.

Food Empire's coffee-mix plant in Khorgos, Kazakhstan, began contributing from 2H2026.

The spray-dried coffee expansion in India is due by end-2027, with a freeze-dried facility in Vietnam to follow in 2028.