Wait, but if buybacks did not have a direct impact on outstanding shares, what were they used for? And here another stunning revelation by Lapthorne: “it looks like the bulk of last quarter’s repurchases went on stock options (aka wages).”……The SocGen strategist’s conclusion: “looking at the table below it appears as if buybacks have indeed gone to pay higher wages, but we suspect not in the way policymakers hand in mind.”
