(FORTUNE Magazine) – At least one group of investors seems to be showing some faith in stocks: companies that issue the stuff. As the market has plummeted, the number of stock buybacks announced has surged. In the two weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks, 193 companies authorized the repurchase of as much as $21 billion of their own shares. Just 565 had issued such authorization in the previous 8 1/2 months.

Often the mere announcement of the intention to buy shares is enough to cause a pop in the stock. (Historically only a third of announced buybacks are actually completed.) In this case, however, only two of the ten biggest would-be repurchasers--American International Group and PepsiCo--are trading above the levels they closed at before the World Trade Center attacks. Neither company would comment on how much it has actually bought back, but we're guessing that since the plans cover just a tiny fraction of their market cap, the stocks' strength doesn't stem from aggressive repurchasing. As for the rest, they're all down, some significantly: Cisco, Intel, and Novellus have shed more than 20% of their value. Perhaps now is the time to put those plans into action.

--J. B.