Buyback

A buyback is a company buying its own shares and cancelling them, so the same profit is spread over fewer shares and EPS rises. US companies return more cash this way than through dividends, and it is announced with results, next to the guide. A company issuing stock to fund spending is the reverse, as Oracle did in 2026.

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In MochaLearnLearn how to read US earnings
  • EPSEPS is earnings per share: net profit divided by shares outstanding. On results day it is compared with the published…
  • Free cash flowFree cash flow is the cash a business brings in from operations minus what it spends on equipment and buildings.…
  • Order backlog (remaining performance obligations)An order backlog is money customers have committed but not yet been billed for, called remaining performance…
  • Guidance (earnings guidance)Guidance is a company's own forecast for the next quarter or year, given with results. The quarter was priced weeks…
  • Earnings season / earnings reportEarnings season is the weeks after each quarter ends when most US companies report, starting with the big banks around…
  • Dividend ETFA dividend ETF holds stocks picked for high or steadily rising dividends, such as SCHD or VYM. Its headline yield…

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