Share buybacks are taking over the world

 Company repurchases of their own stock hit a global record last year of $1.3tn

Historically, companies with leftover cash returned it to their shareholders as dividends. But in recent years, more and more of them, particularly in growth sectors such as technology, have opted instead to buy back shares, sometimes even taking out debt to do so.

I don’t share the hate. It’s much better for companies to return cash than engage in headline-grabbing acquisitions that ultimately destroy value, or throw away money on pet projects such as Facebook’s enormous bet on the metaverse.

Brooke Masters FT 17 May 2023

https://www.ft.com/content/c3b104af-d31e-4fdf-a15f-a86711bde2c2

Brooke Masters is the FT's US Financial editor, and an associate editor. She leads the team of reporters covering financial services in the world's financial capital and writes a business column.