Firms repurchase shares for many reasons. A share repurchase changes the capital structure of the firm, and this adjustment can enhance a firm's value, especially if it is both underleveraged and undervalued. Stock investors particularly value the repurchase plans of firms that are undervalued.

How does a share buyback affect capital?

On the balance sheet, a share repurchase would reduce the company's cash holdings—and consequently its total asset base—by the amount of cash expended in the buyback. The buyback will simultaneously shrink shareholders' equity on the liabilities side by the same amount.

What is the effect of share repurchase?

The effect of a buyback is to reduce the number of outstanding shares on the market, which increases the ownership stake of the stakeholders. A company might buyback shares because it believes the market has discounted its shares too steeply, to invest in itself, or to improve its financial ratios.