> Say the company does a buy back and spends 50 to buy the other guys share. Now I own the whole company but it's only worth $50. So I'm no better off than befo

> Say the company does a buy back and spends 50 to buy the other guys share. Now I own the whole company but it's only worth $50. So I'm no better off than before. What am I missing? You're just looking at yourself and not the entire class of shareholders. Buybacks are positive for shareholders who want to cash out. As well, the additional demand for shares tends to boost the share price. In a contrived example where a company is totally valued by its cash balance, you have the appearance of a wash. But if a company's worth is determined by revenues exceeding expenses (profit margins) rather than cash balances, you can boost the share price beyond e.g. $50 with the increased demand, where the share price is not a simple function of cash balance but has expected cash flows as a major component.