Apple has plowed over $500 billion into stock buybacks since 2012 — more than Visa, JPMorgan, or Exxon are worth::Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have larger market values than Apple’s outlay on share repurchases over the last decade.
Apple has plowed over $500 billion into stock buybacks since 2012 — more than Visa, JPMorgan, or Exxon are worth::Only eight companies in the S&P 500 have larger market values than Apple’s outlay on share repurchases over the last decade.
Stock buy backs are a tax efficient way to return money to stockholders.
The real issue is when companies borrow money to do this.
I would say stock buybacks are already a real issue, doesn’t matter if they’re borrowing the money or not. If companies had to actually invest in their employees instead of their rich shareholders a lot of issues in our society today would be lessened.
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There is also the oft cited chart about US wage stagnation seemingly starting around the time a Reagan era policy incetivied companies to return more money to shareholders. The implied causation being that stock buybacks and other such rules are in part of or wholly responsible for the widespread wage stagnation. Of course correlation does not prove causation, though it certainly suggests it.