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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsStock buybacks exploded after the tax cuts. Now they're slowing down
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/22/investing/stock-buybacks-drop-tax-cuts/index.html
New York (CNN Business)Corporate America's epic buyback mania may finally be succumbing to gravity.
The 2017 corporate tax cut left US businesses flush with cash. S&P 500 companies responded by rewarding shareholders with record amounts of buybacks in 2018, with each quarter setting an all-time high.
However, that record-shattering pace appears to be slowing. S&P 500 companies executed $165.7 billion of buybacks during the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary estimates by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Although that's still a stunning amount of repurchases, it marks a 13% decline from the same period a year ago.
The slowdown in buybacks, which have become a lightning rod for criticism among some in Washington and even on Wall Street, underlines the impact the tax law had last year as companies steered a sizable chunk of their windfall to investors.
"2018 was an adrenaline high," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Companies pounded their chest and rushed to show how much money they could return to shareholders via the new tax changes."
The pullback in buybacks may also reflect a desire by companies not to get stuck buying their own stock near record highs.
"A lot of these companies have seen their stock price go up a lot. Treasurers are thinking, 'Maybe I save some ammo in case anything crazy happens,'" said Ian Winer, advisory board member at Drexel Hamilton.
New York (CNN Business)Corporate America's epic buyback mania may finally be succumbing to gravity.
The 2017 corporate tax cut left US businesses flush with cash. S&P 500 companies responded by rewarding shareholders with record amounts of buybacks in 2018, with each quarter setting an all-time high.
However, that record-shattering pace appears to be slowing. S&P 500 companies executed $165.7 billion of buybacks during the second quarter of 2019, according to preliminary estimates by S&P Dow Jones Indices. Although that's still a stunning amount of repurchases, it marks a 13% decline from the same period a year ago.
The slowdown in buybacks, which have become a lightning rod for criticism among some in Washington and even on Wall Street, underlines the impact the tax law had last year as companies steered a sizable chunk of their windfall to investors.
"2018 was an adrenaline high," said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Companies pounded their chest and rushed to show how much money they could return to shareholders via the new tax changes."
The pullback in buybacks may also reflect a desire by companies not to get stuck buying their own stock near record highs.
"A lot of these companies have seen their stock price go up a lot. Treasurers are thinking, 'Maybe I save some ammo in case anything crazy happens,'" said Ian Winer, advisory board member at Drexel Hamilton.
graph and video at the link
Watch the stable geniuses propose new tax cuts. At least Dems control the House this time.
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Stock buybacks exploded after the tax cuts. Now they're slowing down (Original Post)
IronLionZion
Aug 2019
OP
"They" told us the Trump/Ryan tax cut for the rich would create new jobs and get people raises but .
Botany
Aug 2019
#2
Buybacks make sense when stock prices are low and companies have excess cash
IronLionZion
Aug 2019
#5
Wounded Bear
(58,598 posts)1. So it slows down...
they sit on the cash. When the recession hits, stock prices tank, they buy back the rest of the stock.
Botany
(70,447 posts)2. "They" told us the Trump/Ryan tax cut for the rich would create new jobs and get people raises but .
.... just like i read here on DU was that the CEOs would use it to buy back their company's stock.
And now that tax cut has exploded the deficit and will help to crater the economy too.
Tech
(1,769 posts)6. Ryan did get a new job and probably a pay raise. It seems to have worked for him.
soryang
(3,299 posts)3. Lowering progressive tax rates results in hoarding and speculation not...
...capital investment.
no_hypocrisy
(46,019 posts)4. Wouldn't stock buybacks eventually be a problem?
If the stock value tanks, the investment is no longer appreciable.
IronLionZion
(45,380 posts)5. Buybacks make sense when stock prices are low and companies have excess cash
to reward their shareholders by boosting share prices.
It doesn't do much to create new jobs, grow the business, upgrade equipment, or help people who don't own stock. It's not the job creator that GOP claims it to be.
As liberals, we tend to believe putting money in the hands of the consumers who will spend it is what creates jobs and boosts our economy.