Dividends or Share Buybacks

Josh Peters argues that share buybacks aren't in the best interest of the shareholders. It is much better for a company to either pay out a special dividend or increase their dividend within the next year if there is extra cash. Companies should increse their dividend buy the percentage they would have bought back their shares. Investors shouldn't value share buybacks over cash dividends. The actual cash dividends paid by a company add much more value to all shareholders than a share repurchase program. This is not to say that buybacks are terrible and companies that execute share repurchase programs should be avoided. However, investors should focus more on companies that actually pay cash dividends rather than those that are fixated with share buybacks.