Stock repurchase
"Another major reason why businesses repurchase their own shares is to take advantage of undervaluation. Stock can be undervalued for a number of reasons, often due to investors' inability to see past a business' short-term performance or sensationalist news items. If a stock is dramatically undervalued, the issuing company can repurchase some of its shares at this reduced price and then re-issue them once the market has corrected, thereby increasing its equity capital without issuing any additional shares. For example, assume a company issues 100,000 shares at $25 per share, raising $2.5 million in equity. An ill-timed news item questioning the company's leadership ethics causes panicked shareholders begin to sell, driving the price down to $15 per share. The company decides to repurchase 50,000 shares at $15 per share for a total outlay of $750,000 and wait out the frenzy. The business remains profitable and launches a new and exciting product line the following quarter, driving the price up past the issuing price to $35 per share. After regaining its popularity, the company reissues the 50,000 shares at the new market price for a total capital influx of $1.75 million. Because of the brief undervaluation of its stock, the company was able to turn $2.5 million in equity into $3.5 million without further diluting ownership by issuing additional shares."