“Shareholder returns for companies in our sample conducting buybacks are similar to returns for non-buyback companies, thus dispelling the notion that companies conduct buybacks to inflate stock prices to the benefit of management.”

[COMMENTARY] I don’t like share buybacks because I suspect that the huge sums spent on stock purchases tend to irrationally inflate stock prices and the markets, while detracting from corporate R&D and expansion. That criticism is not covered in this report.
Share Buybacks a Executive Compensation: Assessing Key Criticisms, by Lane Ringlee, Marizu Madu, and Joadi Ogelsby, July 16, 2023, Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, USA.