That's not some gotcha. buybacks and dividends are the entire point of a company.
Product sales and employment are simply a byproduct and tool to achieve that goal.
Product sales and employment are simply a byproduct and tool to achieve that goal.
Manipulation of the market rings hollow. The price changes, but there is no deceit. Running a successful business or starting a dividend also changes the price, but isn't manipulation. Who exactly is duped by BuyBacks?
Investors have turned dividends into a religion. They must come every quarter like clockwork and never decrease; otherwise, it seems like there's a five-alarm fire and the place is on the brink of bankruptcy. It is irrational but reality.
If BuyBacks make stock price go up, stockholders haven't made any money yet. They can be wiped out at any time and lose everything.
BuyBacks simply give the shareholders the choice of if and when to cash out any gains and losses they may have.
But that is still the end goal when running a business for someone else. Fun, cool tech, employees, or whatever else is in service of that goal.