They're a means of "returning money", but they also pump up the stock price, to which managers' TCs are linked. Hence they are a form of manipulation.
Unlike dividends, they don't return money to all shareholders, but to those who sell shares, which are the wealthiest, unnecessarily increasing inequality.
Excessive buybacks and underinvestment are a big reason why Intel failed. Gelsinger (CEO) talked about this publicly. It's not just "returning money to shareholders", because it leads to perverse incentives and underinvestment. Under Otellini, Intel returned 109% of its profits to shareholders.
Unlike dividends, they don't return money to all shareholders, but to those who sell shares, which are the wealthiest, unnecessarily increasing inequality.
Excessive buybacks and underinvestment are a big reason why Intel failed. Gelsinger (CEO) talked about this publicly. It's not just "returning money to shareholders", because it leads to perverse incentives and underinvestment. Under Otellini, Intel returned 109% of its profits to shareholders.