RE: Re-rate?20 Dec 2024 12:36
... or the company simply buys-back as many of its shares as it can at a p/e of less than 1, hence increasing the forever/all-time future returns for everyone who's still holding.
Apart from establishing a floor under the price, which makes holding much easier/justifiable, buybacks at this level have many other direct advantages, eg kills off any incentive to short, establishes a higher base share price, and helps protect against any low-ball bids for the company (which can often be related, of course).
Dividends are a one-off, which may signal a pattern of future intent, but they simply aren't guaranteed to have any lasting impact on the share price; typically a 10% dividend would simply reduce the share price ex-dividend.
You could argue that about buybacks I suppose, but with 20% less shares in issue, all future returns are worth 25% more forevermore, at the same share price.
As a long-term holder I know which I'd prefer in the initial instance.