Applied Materials Raises Dividend, Increases Buybacks. Stock Climbs.

Applied Materials the largest chip-equipment maker in the world, announced Monday a 23.1% lift in its quarterly cash dividend, from 26 cents to 32 cents per share. The dividend is payable on June 15 t...

SVB Financial CEO Greg Becker Sold $3.6 Million in Stock Nearly Two Weeks Ago

Roughly two weeks before SVB Financial Group stock collapsed and its Silicon Valley Bank unit was closed by regulators, its top executive sold millions of dollars of shares. SVB (ticker: SVB) Presiden...

Companies Keep Buying Back Their Shares. These Stocks Are Worth a Look.

Politicians hate stock buybacks. Companies love them—and right now they show no signs of stopping. Yes, buying back stock might seem difficult for companies right now. President Biden, in his State of...

Altria May Sell Anheuser-Busch Stake After Juul Deal

A recent deal by Altria Group involving its stake in Juul Labs could pave the way for the sale of the cigarette maker’s $11 billion interest in Anheuser-Busch Inbev Altria (ticker: MO) last week swapp...

Silicon Valley Confronts the End of Growth. It’s a New Era for Tech Stocks.

Silicon Valley could use a reboot. The biggest players aren’t growing, and more than a few are seeing sharp revenue declines. Regulators seem opposed to every proposed merger, while legislators push f...

In Tech’s New World, Layoffs and Buybacks Are In, Mergers Are Out

Silicon Valley could use a reboot. The biggest players aren’t growing, and more than a few are seeing sharp revenue declines. Regulators seem opposed to every proposed merger, while legislators push f...

Apple and Meta Stock Buybacks Haven’t Been Equal. Here’s Why.

Investors love stock buybacks, but they don’t always spur the types of returns one might imagine. It takes a discerning eye to identify companies with buybacks that create significant gains for shareh...

Biden official responds to Buffett’s attack on opponents of stock buybacks

After Warren Buffett criticized opponents of stock buybacks over the weekend, a White House official offered a response Wednesday, suggesting the storied investor and President Joe Biden aren’t totall...

Buffett Shareholder Letter Was a Big Disappointment

Every year, investors await Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter with excitement, hoping for the insights and flare that make it a must-read. This year’s was a disappointment.  Buffett took just...

Warren Buffett backs stock buybacks, which Joe Biden is trying to tax more

President Joe Biden devoted part of his State of the Union to decrying stock buybacks, a practice he often rails against. Oil and gas companies, he said, didn’t invest in production to keep gas prices...

Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett Appears to Swipe at President Joe Biden

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett’s annual letter, released on Saturday morning, included the usual homespun wisdom that his shareholders have come to expect, with modest and self-effacing reflect...

China Sets New Rules for Overseas IPOs. What It Means for DiDi, Alibaba, and Others.

China has announced new rules on overseas IPOs, potentially sparking the resumption of Chinese companies listing in New York. Under the new rules, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) wil...

China Sets New Overseas IPO Rules. What It Means for DiDi, Alibaba and Others.

China has announced new rules on overseas IPOs, potentially sparking the resumption of Chinese companies listing in New York. Under the new rules, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) wil...

Norfolk Southern, worth $53B, creates $1M fund for train-derailment victims

Norfolk Southern Corp. is facing criticism about the amount of financial support it has given East Palestine, Ohio, in the wake of the train derailment that spewed toxic chemicals and forced residents...

SoftBank Plans Arm Holdings IPO in 2023

One strange twist in the current obsession with artificial intelligence is the trauma afflicting one of AI’s biggest fans—SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. In 2017, Son launched the world’s largest-ever ven...

Bed Bath & Beyond had a rough week. Here’s what could happen next.

It has been a tumultuous week for Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., as the troubled company averted bankruptcy with what has been described as an “unusual” equity offering.  The home-goods retailer and meme...

This Facebook executive’s $4 million stock sale could be another sign of Meta’s rebound

A Meta Platforms Inc. executive’s multimillion-dollar stock sale could be another sign that things are returning to normal at the social-media company. Chief Business Officer Marne Levine sold $4.45 m...

Bed Bath & Beyond equity offering ‘one of the most unusual financing situations we have witnessed,’ analyst says

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s BBBY, -8.13% unusual equity offering may have averted bankruptcy for the time being, but big challenges remain for the troubled retailer, according to KeyBanc Capital Mark...

Bed Bath & Beyond’s lifeline comes at ‘incredible cost’ to shareholders, analyst warns

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.’s equity offering may be a lifeline as the troubled retailer teeters on the brink of bankruptcy — but it could spell trouble for the company’s shareholders, according to Wed...

Robinhood accidentally sold short on a meme stock and lost $57 million

Robinhood Markets Inc. accidentally sold short on a small stock as it went on a meme-like ride in December, costing the trading app more than the stock’s current market capitalization, executives disc...

Why Biden’s 4% buyback tax could boost stock prices and dividends

The Biden administration’s new stock buyback tax will have little impact on the overall stock market. It might even actually help it. I’m referring to the new 1% excise tax on share repurchases that w...

Biden targets stock buybacks — do they help you as an investor?

There seem to be two camps when it comes to stock buybacks. On one hand, share buybacks can reduce a company’s share count, which increases profit per share and hopefully supports a rising stock price...

Bed Bath & Beyond Strikes Investor Deal for Over $1 Billion to Avoid Bankruptcy

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. has secured investor backing for a more than $1 billion capital raise to stave off bankruptcy and try to turn around its flagging business, people familiar with the matter s...

ServiceNow CEO’s $25 million stock sale called ‘opportunistic’ as shares slide

Shares of ServiceNow Inc. declined in Monday trading after the company’s chief executive disclosed the sale of a sizable chunk of stock. CEO Bill McDermott cashed out of almost 54,000 shares, worth ne...

Shell Posts Annual Profit Record of $40 Billion and Launches $4 Billion Buyback

Shell the oil and gas giant, posted a record annual profit of $40 billion and announced a new $4 billion share buyback program Thursday, sending the stock higher. British energy giant Shell (ticker: S...

Opinion: Zuckerberg and Intel are shipping the proceeds from their layoffs straight to Wall Street

For years, Wall Street groused about Silicon Valley’s refusal to pay dividends and buy back stock as tech companies grew into cash-generating machines. That is no longer a problem, even though those t...

Meta stock spikes nearly 20% as cost cuts and $40 billion for investors overshadow earnings miss

Meta Platforms Inc. shares soared in after-hours trading Wednesday despite an earnings miss, as the Facebook parent company guided for potentially more revenue than Wall Street expected in the new yea...

Altria Unveils $1 Billion Stock Buyback as Earnings Top Estimates

Marlboro maker Altria Group beat earnings and revenue estimates in the fourth quarter and announced a new $1 billion share buyback plan. The cigarettes company reported adjusted earnings per share (EP...

Amazon expected to post first unprofitable year since 2014 and worst loss since the dot-com bust

Amazon.com Inc. is expected to reveal this week its first unprofitable year since 2014 and the worst year for its bottom line since 2000 — and expectations for this year aren’t headed in a positive di...

Exxon’s Q4 comes hot on the heels of Chevron’s giant profit, here’s what to expect

Exxon Mobil Corp. is slated to report earnings before the bell on Tuesday, hot on the heels of results showing a mixed quarter for Chevron Corp., and amid renewed scrutiny over oil giants’ share buyba...

Chevron’s Higher Dividend Yield Now Tops Exxon’s

Chevron  raised its dividend, and announced a new round of buybacks valued at up to $75 billion late on Wednesday, sending shares 2.6% higher in after-hours trading. The energy giant boosted the quart...

Tesla Is Expanding Its Footprint in Nevada. The Stock Is Dropping.

Tesla had to cut prices recently to increase demand, but that isn’t stopping it from expanding its manufacturing capacity at its Gigafactory in Nevada. Investors should be pleased, although they might...