ELi5: Why do people dislike stock buybacks, but not stock dividends?

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How are stock buybacks any worse than dividend payouts to investors?

I get how they are logistically different, but to me, whether you give the investors cash that they use to buy more stock, or you internally increase the value of a stock by buying it back with company funds, the result is the same – Investors get richer at the cost of investment.

Not saying buybacks aren’t bad, but I guess I just don’t understand the hate relative to dividend payments.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Stock buybacks work the same as every other investment. You need to buy low and sell high. Stock buybacks are usually done indiscriminate to price, and results in overpaying for a stock. This will only benefit shareholders that sell at a high price, and causes a loss of value for everyone else.

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