The 100 Largest Low-Wage Employers Have Spent $341 Billion on Stock Buybacks Since 2020

In response to strikes and union organizing drives, corporate leaders routinely insist that they simply lack the wherewithal to raise employee pay. And yet top executives seem to have little trouble finding resources for enriching themselves and wealthy shareholders.

In 2021 and 2022, S&P 500 corporations spent record sums on stock buybacks, a maneuver that pumps up stock prices by reducing the supply on the open market. Since stock-based pay makes up the bulk of executive compensation, CEOs reap huge — and completely undeserved — windfalls.

CEOs could watch cat videos all day and still reap huge windfalls through stock buybacks.



https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/08/25/the-100-largest-low-wage-employers-have-spent-341-billion-on-stock-buybacks-since-2020/