RE:Q4Yo Doggy & Maggs, just found the following on the Investopedia website.
Thought it would be nice sharing with you since it looks like we agree to disagree on the shares buyback potential for SPN...;)
Here it is, it does cover all the reasons why I don't believe it is good for SPN to start buying back shares;
''Criticisms of Share Buybacks
A share buyback can give investors the impression that the corporation does not have other profitable opportunities for growth, which is an issue for growth investors looking for revenue and profit increases. A corporation is not obligated to repurchase shares due to changes in the marketplace or economy. Repurchasing shares puts a business in a precarious situation if the economy takes a downturn or the corporation faces financial issues it cannot cover. Others allege that sometimes buybacks are used to inflate share price artificially in the market, which can also lead to higher executive bonuses.''
Shares buyback program are very good for large corporation, like Apple, that have tons of money in their piggy bank and can't spent anymore in R&D or market development (ie.: sales). It helps boost their P/E ratio without diluting their shareholders.