Cannibal Stocks
Companies that eat their own shares: the diluted share count fell by 3% or more over three fiscal years. The question that matters is whether the people running them are buying too.
This list will appear after the next update of company financial statements.
Why the share count matters
When a company buys back more stock than it hands out as pay, each remaining share owns a bigger slice of the business. Over years this adds up: a company that cuts its share count by 5% a year grows earnings per share by about 5% a year with no growth at all.
A buyback is only as good as the price paid. A company buying while its own insiders sell heavily is spending shareholders' money at a price the insiders seem happy to take. Buying alongside insiders is the stronger combination.
Share count is the weighted average diluted share count from each annual report's XBRL data, adjusted for stock splits. Insider amounts are open-market purchases and sales reported on Form 4. See also buybacks versus insider selling. Not investment advice.
About this page
WallStPal explains public SEC filings and congressional stock trade reports in plain English. Nothing is for sale; the site is free and supported by ads.
How to read it
- Form 4
- The form a company insider (officer, director or owner of more than 10%) must file with the SEC within two business days of buying or selling the company's shares.
- 13F
- A quarterly list of U.S. stocks held by an investment manager with more than $100 million, filed within 45 days after each quarter ends.
- STOCK Act
- A 2012 law that requires members of Congress to report stock trades by themselves, a spouse or a dependent child within 45 days.
A real example
In January 2016, when bank stocks were falling, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon bought 500,000 JPMorgan shares with his own money, worth about $26 million. His Form 4 made the purchase public within days, and investors read it as a strong sign of confidence.
Explain it like I'm 13
We read the long, boring forms that grown-ups file with the government and tell you what they say in normal words.
Data from public SEC filings and congressional reports. Information, not investment advice. Check every number against the filing linked on the page.