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Apple has plowed over $500 billion into stock buybacks since 2012 โ more than Visa, JPMorgan, or Exxon are worth
(markets.businessinsider.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
This should be illegal.
What should? Stock buybacks? Why?
It's usually done to basically pay to increase companies own stock price. They often do it because CEO and executive pay is based on achieving certain goals such as stock price. However, every penny thrown at investors in a buy back is money that could have been used to weather a downturn, or increase employee pay or simply reinvested in the company itself. This often leads to companies then requiring government bailouts to continue functioning when say a global pandemic hits. The Plain Bagel has more detailed video on the ups and downs of stock buybacks on YouTube.
Is there no scenario in which a company could buy back their stocks? Or are companies that offer stock forever stuck with never getting those back? That would kill a lot of opportunities for companies to start up, expand their business, or take advantage of other opportunities to grow. You can't always get money from a bank loan.