Policy Debate: Buybacks and Return Cash

policy debate: Others see pernicious and toxic instruments of manipulation that enable top executives to enrich themselves at their workers' and shareholders' expense, according to Market Watch. This debate would become a lot less polarized if both sides were to recognize that not all buybacks are created equal. Many investors view buybacks as benign ways for companies to return cash to shareholders. A buyback signifies one thing when it is used to absorb the otherwise diluting effect of an options exercise by a company's CEO and especially if its timing is planned to hit the market just before that exercise. I will leave to others the political and policy debate about buybacks. In contrast, a buyback means quite another when the company's board genuinely believes its stock is significantly undervalued. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.