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Maybe it is the Fairfax's counter-party to the total return swaps who is rushing (after the fact) to buy Fairfax shares to hedge their blown-out counter-party exposure after it rallied. They have been taken to the cleaners by Watsa. --------------- Unrelated, in 2022, we had a bear market where major indices dropped 15-20%, while Berkshire went flat and Fairfax rallied. Putting aside, FFH's undervaluation and how still cheap it is, if 2023 turns out to be a bull market year for indices, do folks think Fairfax would continue to rally, or would it a "pause" flat year.

the shareholder gets to decide what to do with the increase in proportionate ownership which occurs with share repurchases (at any price, "good" or "bad"). BBY Shareholders who sold into the repo to maintain their stake, realized the share repurchases as a dividend. I wouldn't say buybacks are universally better (they are the same), but in a united states context, buybacks are almost always more more tax efficient. For a $1 of pretax corporate income a dividend realizes $0.2 of corporate tax (20%) $0.08-$0.25+ of individual tax For me personally $1 of pretax income distributed via divvy becomes about $0.56 of post tax income via the combo of corporate, state, federal taxes. If the corporation repurchases, the tax is deferred until when i want to create a dividend via sale of stock (which I may be able to offset with losses or push to a low income year etc). The share repurchase leaves the shareholder in control of choosing if/when to realize the individual tax and in the event one's basis is equal or > current price. the share sale may not trigger tax For a retired couple w/o much W2 / ordinaryh income, there's a pretty generous exemption for qualified divvies, so that type is more ambivalent b/w the two forms of capital return. Likewise IRA money is completely indifferent.

in short, they are the same thing (except for tax treatment which for US taxable investors favors buybacks). Company A distributes 50% of earnings in form of dividend and earns 10% on reinvested earnings. Company A is purchased for 15x earnings / 3.3% yield. It grows by 5% / yr and is exited at 15x earnings. Dividends are reinvested. Sold in 20 years. For a nontaxable holder: Investor makes 8.6% IRR Company B is same company but repo's instead of divvy. Same assumptions (excuse the quick and ugly spreadsheet). 8.6% IRR. Company B