The Case Against Restricting Stock Buybacks
Critics of stock buybacks allege that the practice is a form of market manipulation that allows insiders to unfairly profit and sacrifices long-term growth. The authors conducted a large-sample study of stock buybacks over the past 30 years in the U.S. and did not find a correlation between share repurchases and price manipulation, return reversals, excess CEO compensation, or underinvestment. A ban could, however, impose costs on U.S. public companies and other stakeholders.