Stock Buybacks

V.F. Corporation ( VFC ) owns many iconic brands (Exhibit 1), but the stock has struggled over the past year, losing nearly 60% of its value, while its competitor PVH Corporation ( PVH ) has gained 28%. V.F. Corporation has spent much money on buying back its shares.  Exhibit 1:  Source: V.F. Corp.   The company has spent $6.1 billion on share repurchases and reduced its share count by 51 million over the past decade (Exhibit 2). Based on these metrics, the average repurchase price is an astounding $119 (Exhibit 3). The company has issued over $800 million in shares over the past decade. The company spent billions buying back its shares when trading well above $50 in 2016, 2017, and 2018. The stock is trading at $18 on August 8, 2023.     Exhibit 2:  Source: Seeking Alpha, Author Compilation Exhibit 3:    Source: Seeking Alpha, Author Calculations         

This is the first post on this blog. I will cover shareholder topics such as share buybacks or repurchases, dividend payments, and the impact of these actions on shareholder returns and the shareholder's equity carried on the books of the corporations.  I pay homage to the most significant investors of our times - Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger - by looking at the share repurchases by their company - Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK.B , BRK.A ).  Warren Buffett has always approached share buybacks with a lot of caution. He has famously said : "When stock can be bought below a business’s value it is probably the best use of cash."   In recent years, Berkshire Hathaway has repurchased its own shares. This post will examine the share repurchases and the total diluted outstanding shares. The company does not famously pay any dividends to its shareholders.   Berkshire has spent $59.3 billion on share buybacks since 2010. Most of this money has gone towards buying back its...