Open market buybacks are not firm commitments and there is limited evidence on whether firms repurchase the intended shares. We employ a comprehensive set of hand-collected data on information disclosure on open market share buyback announcements and the respective buyback trades in UK. We...

This paper shows evidence for the hypothesis that the CEO opportunistically times share repurchases around her grants of at-the-money stock options. We find that firms decrease their repurchase activity in the quarter before the stock option grant to the CEO. When the option grant constitutes a...

We find that the informed trading measures “abnormal O/S ratio”, “abnormal option volume” and “abnormal implied volatility skew” are negatively related to event period abnormal returns for accelerated share repurchases (ASRs) announcements. This effect is stronger for call options...

This paper studies the strategic use and timing of share repurchases by insiders for personal gain. Using grant level compensation data and a hand-collected sample of monthly repurchases, I find a positive causal relation between CEO equity sales and share repurchases. I identify the relation...

This study examines management's response to the change in accounting for stock option-based compensation imposed by SFAS No. 123R, whose implementation is expected to reduce reported income. To cope with this impact, management may be motivated to decrease the use of stock options as part of...

Buybacks and equity compensation are two sides of a single coin. In a buyback, a company spends cash to repurchase its own shares, reducing its total outstanding share count. In the case of equity compensation, a company issues shares, receiving cash and tax benefits, increasing its total...

This study examines whether the CEO uses share repurchases to sell her equity grants at inflated stock prices, a concern regularly voiced in politics and media. We find that the timing of buyback programs and equity compensation, i.e., the granting, vesting, and selling of equity, is largely...

This study examines whether the CEO uses share repurchases to sell her equity grants at inflated stock prices, a concern regularly voiced in politics and media. We find that the timing of buyback programs and equity compensation, i.e., the granting, vesting, and selling of equity, is largely...