>>64865007That's one vector, but it's also a somewhat typical and classic response of anyone who was taught in a more Yuppie-era Shareholder Value theory of business. Happens all the time. I think it was news back in the COVID era that airline companies had to run to the governments of the world to avoid a complete collapse on day one of the shutdowns, because instead of investing in an emergency war chest (or at the very least, a more liquid investment like treasury bonds), they spent a large portion of their net profits on stock buybacks.
It's also important to check this one thing:
>What is the CEO's compensation package?It's usually not a big factor, but if a CEO is paid in stock options, a somewhat malconvieved incentive structure can be created, where the CEO will prefer to utilize capital on stock buybacks, because while doing so won't make the company better on a material basis, it will indirectly transfer the company's assets into a higher paycheck for the CEO once they cash out.
