By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters] – The U.S.’s total corporate stock buybacks have surpassed a record in the third quarter. This is because the U.S. economy recovered from the global recession and chief executives are less scared to spend money.

companies in recent weeks have disclosed buybacks totaling $145 billion for the third quarter, and the total is likely to surpass $224 billion by the time all reports are in, Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said on Tuesday.

This would put it above the record of $223 billion in buybacks for the fourth quarter 2018, he stated.

Stock repurchases can be seen as a support for stock prices in general. These repurchases reduce the company’s share outstanding. This boosts per-share earnings as well as driving down the price/earnings ratio (a crucial valuation benchmark).

Silverblatt stated that stock prices are still rising, which is affecting the amount of shares that companies can purchase back.

The S&P 500, which hit a record high on Tuesday, is up about 23% for the year to date.

According to strategists, companies are likely to continue to invest large sums of money in 2022. This should be a positive trend for stocks.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) strategists wrote in a recent note that cash balances have surged in the last 12 months, and they are projecting S&P 500 buybacks to grow by 8% in 2022 after 50% growth in 2021.

There have been several big announcements recently. Exxon Mobil (NYSE:) Last Friday, the company pledged to restart its long-since discontinued share repurchase program in next year.